NDP MP says she turned down Liberal offer to cross the floor: report

Another Canadian member of Parliament has revealed that the Liberals have invited her to cross the floor to their side of the House of Commons, tipping it in their favour to form a majority government.

Lori Idlout, the second-term MP for Nunavut, told CBC she’d been asked to consider making the move, not only by Liberals, but also by some constituents in Canada’s northernmost riding, who she said believed her decision would be based on what is “best for Nunavummiut.”

“I have decided at this point that I can’t,” she said, noting the decision “weighed heavily” on her.

National Post has contacted Idlout for comment.

Her admission comes the day after B.C. Conservative MP Scott Anderson said he’d also been courted by the Liberals to join their ranks, a move he said “would be a betrayal of my constituents, a betrayal of the office to which I have been elected, and a betrayal of my own personal core beliefs.”

“It’ll be a cold day in Hell before I even consider betraying my constituents, and you should probably stop asking because I will certainly advertise it every time you try,” he wrote in a Facebook post that also criticized Liberals for not achieving results and not taking the concerns of Canadians seriously when raised in the House of Commons.

Anderson has already seen two of his caucus mates jump ship for the Liberals — Chris d’Entremont (Acadie—Annapolis, N.S) in November and Michael Ma (Markham—Unionville, Ont.) in December. The latter left Prime Minister Mark Carney one seat short of the 172 required for a majority in the House.

Reports of floor crossing and more overtures don’t come as a surprise to political scientist Laura Stephenson — the ultimate goal of any minority government is to tip the scales to make governance easier.

But the University of Western Ontario professor and department chair is surprised that they’re happening without immediate ministerial appointments, as has often occurred in the past.

“The Liberal Party of Justin Trudeau and maybe the partisan lines of the past may be a bit blurred right now, given the current environment, so it might be a little bit of a different set of considerations for MPs if they are in this situation to think about crossing the floor,” Stephenson told National Post in an interview.

“I’m not saying that their constituents will all be jumping up and down excited, but I can imagine a situation where people maybe aren’t as happy with the way their own parties are operating and want to be part of a different type of policy push that seems very Canada first.”

Idlout, who reclaimed her riding by just 77 votes over Liberal competitor Kilikvak Kabloona last April, told CBC one of her concerns about crossing was limiting her ability to criticize the government while still advocating for the people of Nunavut.

“I thought it was actually quite a thoughtful response that was very pragmatic, but rooted in representational concerns for one’s constituents, which really is, ideally, how our democratic system should work,” Stephenson explained.

Idlout, one of the two NDP MPs to abstain from the fall budget vote and help it pass, highlighted the One Canadian Economy Act, Arctic sovereignty and security, housing and health care as areas she wanted to press government on.

Recently, she has been pressing the federal government to investigate food costs in Canada’s north and the effectiveness of the Nutrition North subsidy program, which aims to make more healthy food and essential items more affordable. The program was started by former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2012.

“The rate of hunger in Nunavut should be a national embarrassment,” Idlout stated in a December news release.

“The cost of food is out of control. Today, 42 percent of Inuit children arrive at school hungry — more than anywhere else in Canada.”

When contacted about Idlout, a spokesperson for the Liberal Party of Canada shared the same response they sent regarding inquiries about Anderson’s recruitment.

“As mentioned, while we have no added updates on our caucus at this time, we’re ready to work collaboratively with Parliamentarians from all parties to build a stronger Canada, and we welcome all support for the serious solutions we are bringing forward,” they wrote via email.

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