The Carney government’s desperate bid to steal a majority is hitting a roadblock, with Conservative MP Scott Anderson publicly rejecting the Liberals’ latest offer to cross the floor.
Anderson, who represents the B.C. riding of Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee, said the Liberals had approached him about joining the party, but he confirmed he wouldn’t “betray” his constituents.
“It’ll be a cold day in Hell before I even consider betraying my constituents,” said Anderson in a statement on Monday. “I have no intention of crossing the floor — today, tomorrow, or ever.”
He also dispelled rumours of an internal uprising to oust Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre.
“With the complicity of the MSM they’ve promoted the myth that there is some kind of movement to turf our leader, and it’s because they are afraid of Pierre Poilievre. They’d prefer a milquetoast Conservative leader and not a fighter who stands up to their lies.”
Poilievre responded to Anderson’s statement by calling him a man of “integrity and principle,” adding that Prime Minister Mark Carney was attempting to “manipulate himself a costly majority that Canadians voted against.”
News of the Liberals approaching Anderson comes after two former Conservative MPs crossed the floor late last year.
First, Chris d’Entremont defected from the Conservative party in November, followed by Micheal Ma last month.
Floor-crossing has been a recurring issue this Parliament, as the Liberals repeatedly try to strengthen their numbers amid close votes on legislation, including measures related to climate policy, public safety and federal–provincial energy agreements.
The Liberals are now one seat away from a majority government, and Anderson said they have been “pulling out all the stops to lure Conservative” MPs.
Anderson noted that if a majority is achieved, the Carney government would be able to “subject Canada to more years of economic and social malaise.”
“If broken promises were the only issue, it would be bad enough. But I sit across from you every day and see what most Canadians can’t see when they watch CPAC,” reads his statement.
“I watch you laugh when we Conservatives bring up the closed mills, the shuttered businesses, the seniors who have to choose between eating and rent. I watch your self-satisfied scoffs when we ask you to cut taxes and allow Canadians to flourish again. I see you, sitting across the aisle in designer suits paid for by a job that’s inflation proof and safe, smirking at those who have to try to scrape a living out of the economic desert you’ve created.”