OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney and his fellow Liberal MPs said the party is open to talking to any other opposition MPs interested in joining their team, a day after Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont quit the Conservatives to join the government caucus.
Carney and d’Entremont were met with thunderous applause and cheers as they walked side by side into Wednesday’s Liberal caucus meeting on Parliament Hill. Some Liberal MPs began chanting the former Conservative’s name.
Ahead of that caucus meeting, D’Entremont joined Carney at a post-budget media conference in the city’s south end, and told reporters he didn’t believe his values as a “red Tory” were being reflected in the current Conservative caucus.
“I didn’t find I was represented there … my ideals of an easterner, of a red Tory and quite honestly of trying to find ways to find solutions and help the community rather than trying to oppose everything that’s happening,” he said.
D’Entremont said there are probably other Conservative MPs “in the same boat” but he would let them share their stories “if the time comes.”
Carney would not bite on questions about whether he is approaching other opposition MPs to try and overcome the now two-seat margin keeping his government in minority status.
He thanked d’Entremont for joining the Liberals after the budget’s release on Tuesday, and told reporters it was “an honour” to welcome him to his caucus, saying global economic uncertainty calls for a unified approach to strengthening Canada’s economy.
“We’ll speak to anyone publicly or otherwise that can support us,” he said.
Publicly Liberals were tight lipped about whether they have been actively recruiting opposition MPs to join their fold — or if more could follow d’Entremont. But one senior Liberal government source confirmed there have been discussions with additional MPs, though they would not say who.
Despite the spring d’Entremont’s defection put in the Liberals’ step Wednesday, some still voiced lingering concerns about whether the minority government can get the additional two votes its needs to pass the budget and avoid a winter election.
Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said a Christmas election is still a possibility and stopped in front of TV cameras Wednesday to encourage opposition MPs to vote for the budget.
“I know what happened in the last 24 hours. What the next 24 hours hold, I’ve become used to waking up to surprises every day,” MacKinnon said.
Liberal MP Kody Blois — who, like d’Entremont, represents a riding in Nova Scotia — said that the two have spoken “for a long time about the ways in which we can collaborate” and that he spent time with d’Entremont and his wife on Tuesday night.
Blois did not explicitly say he was part of an effort to enlist d’Entremont. He said the Liberals are offering a big tent to MPs with different viewpoints.
“If you’re a moderate conservative type of member of Parliament and want to see fiscal discipline but at the same time see a prime minister that is balanced, that is focused on the economy, that is showing the maturity that the country needs right now, I have to hope and assume we are looking like a desirable choice,” he told reporters outside the caucus room.
“It’s great to see Mr. d’Entremont join. If there’s other members of Parliament feeling the same way, again, I think we’re always welcome to those conversations.”
On her way into the House of Commons on Wednesday, Quebec Conservative MP Dominique Vien said in French she has no intention of leaving the Conservative caucus and it’s sad to hear rumours about her crossing the floor.
Ontario Conservative MP Michael Barrett quoted D’Entremont’s past criticisms of the Liberal government and said the newest Liberal MP had described the anticipated federal deficit as “monstrous.”
“I think this says that Mr. d’Entremont is a man, if he plans to vote for this budget, that can’t be taken at his word. And that should be incredibly disappointing, and I’m sure it is for his constituents,” Barrett said.
Liberal MP Marc Miller said he does not know what motivated the floor-crossing but d’Entremont has always been seen as a moderate in the House and is well-liked across party lines.
“He’s a super nice guy. He’s appreciated by the entirety of Parliament,” Miller said, adding that Conservative MPs treating him “like crap just because he decided … to leave and come to us, I think, is a testament to how miserable it is in the Conservative party currently under Pierre Poilievre.”
When d’Entremont was asked about the criticisms coming from his former caucus colleagues, he said they should try to build something instead of “knocking people down.”
“I think they should look at themselves and see if they’re offering the right thing to Canadians, of trying to build for the world. We have a great opportunity here in Canada and rather than knocking people down, we should try to find ways to work together, and that’s what I’ve always tried to do in my career,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2025.
— With files from Kyle Duggan and Catherine Morrison
David Baxter, The Canadian Press
