No more Conservative defections to Liberals, MP Gérard Deltell says

QUÉBEC – No other Conservative member of Parliament will succumb to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal charm offensive, Quebec MP Gérard Deltell said Thursday.

Earlier in the week, Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont announced he was leaving the federal Conservatives to join the Liberals, saying Carney’s budget is a “better path forward for our country.”

Deltell told reporters in Quebec City that d’Entremont’s departure was an isolated case.

“There won’t be any other departures, that’s the reality, whether it’s in Quebec or elsewhere,” he told reporters at a hotel where party Leader Pierre Poilievre was delivering a speech.

“There won’t be any, there won’t be any,” he repeated, adding that he was sure “because I know my friends, I know my people, I know our caucus.”

Fellow Quebec MP Jacques Gourde said the Conservatives under Poilievre are a close-knit family. “Like soldiers going to war, we’re brothers and sisters in arms,” he said, with his hand on his heart.

Gourde, however, was less categorical than Deltell on the question of defections. “I think there won’t be any more for the time being, but I can’t guarantee anything,” he said.

Poilievre spoke on Thursday to a gathering of businesspeople, but did not answer questions from reporters. His speech took aim at Carney’s budget, which includes “the largest deficit in the history of our country, with the exception of the COVID period,” he said.

The Tory leader described Carney as “the costliest prime minister in the history of our country,” adding, “every dollar he spends comes out of your pockets.”

The floor-crossing by d’Entremont brings the Liberals to within two seats of a majority government.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.