Hour 2 of Ottawa Now for Wed. February 18th, 2026

In November, MP Matt Jeneroux decided to leave the Tories, but not join another party. Today, he is joining the Carney Liberals, marking the third Conservative MP to make that decision since the new government was formed last Spring. That brings the Red Team’s total seats to 169, with a couple of federal byelections on the horizon. Carney would need 172 seats to secure a majority. When asked about his reasoning for the floor-crossing, Jeneroux says he wants to work with the government as Canada tangos with today’s challenges, and he will now serve as a special advisor on economic and security partnerships. Does this turn of events place the Conservatives in a dangerous position? We dig deeper with our Political Heat Panel. Meantime, new research says that Ontarians without a family doctor face a higher risk of death as opposed to those who spend several years with the same physician. Kristy Cameron sifts through the data with Dr. John Fitzsimon, an Assistant Professor at UOttawa's Department of Family Medicine. He is also a family doctor himself, and the lead author of this study.