The recent decision by two Conservative Members of Parliament to join the governing Liberal caucus has thrust a long-simmering democratic debate back into the spotlight: should elected officials who change party allegiance be forced to seek a new mandate from their constituents?
Constituent Backlash Fuels Democratic Debate
Thousands of voters in the ridings of Acadie-Annapolis and Markham-Unionville are demanding exactly that. Their representatives, MPs Chris d’Entremont and Michael Ma, left the Conservative opposition in late 2025 to sit with the Liberals, a move that bolstered the government's numbers and edged it closer to a majority. This act of "floor crossing" has many asking if a politician's seat belongs to the person or the party they represented during the election.
While the current crossings have renewed focus on the issue, the concept of mandating a byelection for party switchers is not new. In fact, back in 2012, former NDP MP Mathieu Ravignat introduced a private member's bill aimed at doing just that. Representing Pontiac at the time, Ravignat argued his proposal would "help restore Canadians’ faith in our democracy."
A Historical Look at Proposed Reforms
Interestingly, Ravignat's bill was opposed by both the then-governing Conservatives and the third-party Liberals. They contended that such a rule would undermine the independence of individual MPs. One must now wonder how many of those Conservative MPs would maintain their opposition after seeing their own caucus members depart.
Importantly, the 2012 proposal had a key nuance. It would have allowed MPs to leave their party and sit as independents without triggering a vote. Only the act of resigning from one party and formally joining another would require the MP to vacate the seat and contest a byelection. This distinction aimed to protect an MP's ability to break ranks on matters of principle while preventing wholesale party jumps without voter consent.
Manitoba's Short-Lived Precedent
Canada has seen this model in action at the provincial level. From 2006 to 2018, the province of Manitoba had legislation on the books that mandated a byelection if an MLA changed party registration. Enacted under the NDP government of Premier Gary Doer, it followed the same principle: you could leave your caucus, but joining a new one required a fresh mandate.
This law was repealed by the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Brian Pallister. His then-justice minister, Heather Stefanson, called it "a bad law" that was "not in the spirit of parliamentary tradition." The government chose to scrap the law rather than defend it in court against a lawsuit from a former Tory MLA, arguing it wasn't worth the legal expense for a bill they believed should never have existed.
Why Voter Behavior Makes This a Modern Issue
Proponents of mandatory byelection rules argue that parliamentary traditions must evolve with voter behavior. Decades ago, many Canadians voted heavily for the local candidate. Today, research suggests that is the primary motivator for only about 4% of voters. The vast majority cast their ballot based on party leaders and which party they want to form government. This explains the near-total absence of independently elected officials in legislatures across the country.
When a candidate wins under a party banner, they are often carried by the party's platform and leader's popularity. If that MP later decides a different party would better serve their riding, they should have the conviction to make that case directly to the people who elected them under a different premise. A byelection would be the fair and democratic forum for that debate.
As Jay Goldberg, a fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, concludes in his commentary, it is ultimately a question of accountability. If voters agree with their representative's new direction, they can re-elect them. If they disagree, they can choose someone else. Passing federal and provincial legislation to address floor crossings, as Ravignat argued over a decade ago, would give greater control to the electorate and help chip away at political cynicism. In a democracy, no one should have a problem with that fundamental principle.
