Marilyn Gladu crosses floor to join Liberals in surprise move
marilyn gladu crossed the floor on Wednesday as Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the four-time Conservative MP into the Liberal caucus in Ottawa. The move gives Carney’s government added room in Parliament and comes just days before next Monday’s byelections. It also makes marilyn gladu the fifth floor crosser and the fourth Conservative to shift into the government’s tent.
Marilyn Gladu adds to Carney’s majority margin
The Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong MP’s seat helps secure a majority for Carney whether or not Liberals win the Quebec riding of Terrebonne next Monday. Gladu had won her riding last spring with more than 50 per cent of the vote, making the switch a notable gain for the government and a fresh setback for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. The timing places the move at a sensitive moment, with byelection results still pending and parliamentary arithmetic already shifting.
Gladu is well known on Parliament Hill for her social conservative views and her collegial style. She has been described as cooperative and vocal, and she chairs the Status of Women committee. Up until moments before the announcement, she was also serving as Poilievre’s shadow minister for civil liberties.
Why Marilyn Gladu’s move stands out
Gladu’s floor crossing is likely to surprise Poilievre and his team because she has long been one of the more visible Conservative MPs. In 2016, Maclean’s magazine named her the most collegial MP and described her as a loyal Conservative who consistently works across party lines. She received the same recognition again in 2020.
Her parliamentary record also includes two private member’s bills that became law. One established a national framework for palliative care, and the other helped secure employee pension protection after companies declare bankruptcy. Those details help explain why her move is being watched closely inside both parties, especially given the symbolic weight of a senior Conservative crossing to the government side.
Reactions around the floor crossing
Carney welcomed marilyn gladu as part of what he called a broader effort to bring Canadians with wide-ranging experience and perspectives together to build a stronger country. The Prime Minister presented the addition as part of an expanding Liberal caucus at a moment when his government is seeking stability and momentum.
Gladu’s own past has included friction with her party. In 2020, she ran for the Conservative leadership but was disqualified from the race after the party refused to grant an extension to reorganize signature drives cancelled by pandemic orders or reduce the $300, 000 entrance fee because of COVID-19. She later said she was surprised to see her own party work against her and added that she was thoroughly disappointed.
Background on Marilyn Gladu and what comes next
Gladu was also drawn into controversy during the pandemic after promoting hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and zinc sulphate as a treatment for COVID-19 in an April 2020 radio interview and urging a swift return to work. She later said on social media that her comments were taken out of context. After the 2021 election, she was also forced to apologize by the Conservative Party, though the context for that apology was not detailed in the material provided.
The immediate focus now turns to how this switch affects the government’s standing heading into next Monday’s byelections. For Carney, marilyn gladu strengthens the numbers and adds a recognizable Conservative voice to the Liberal caucus. For Poilievre, it is a public loss that lands at a politically sensitive time and may not be the last development in a Parliament already marked by movement.
