NDP MP Lori Idlout crosses to Liberals, nudging Carney closer to majority

OTTAWA — Nunavut MP Lori Idlout is crossing the floor to join the Liberals.

Interim NDP Leader Don Davies announced Idlout’s move in a news release the party issued Tuesday shortly before 9:45 p.m. in Ottawa, saying the party was “very disappointed” in her decision.

“The position of the New Democrats on floor crossing is longstanding and clear. We believe that when someone rejects the decision of their electors and wants to join another party, they should put that decision to their voters,” Davies said in a statement.

Idlout, first elected back in 2021, is the fourth MP that has crossed the floor in recent months to join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government. The first three — Chris d’Entremont, Michael Ma and Matt Jeneroux — all joined from the Conservatives .

Idlout’s defection now places Carney within striking distance of securing a majority government, with 170 seats in the House of Commons, just two shy of a majority.

With three upcoming byelection races, two in Toronto seats considered strongholds for the Liberals, Carney’s path to achieving a majority government seemed all but inevitable, Tuesday evening.

“On our way to a majority!” Eric St-Pierre, a Quebec Liberal MP, posted online.

The third byelection, set for a Quebec riding, is expected to be a tight race with the Bloc Québécois , after the Liberals’ razor-thin, one-vote victory in the 2025 election was recently voided by the Supreme Court of Canada . All three byelection races have been called for April.

Neither Carney’s office, the Liberal party, nor Idlout herself had yet to officially comment on her move before Davies did, suggesting the NDP got ahead of whatever plan the Liberals had for announcing it.

After midnight, the Liberal party issued a statement from Idlout saying she has heard from those in the territory about how this is a “ crucial moment for Nunavut and for all of Canada.”

“With new threats against our sovereignty and pressures on the wellbeing of people throughout the North, we need a strong and ambitious government that makes decisions with Nunavut — not only about Nunavut. The success of that work needs all of our voices,” her statement read.

“That is why after much personal reflection and encouragement from my community, family, and supporters, I have decided to join the government caucus and to work alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney to build the better future that Nunavummiut are counting on.”

Idlout’s statement also referenced how Carney himself was the first prime minister to hail from the North. Carney was born in Fort Smith, N.W.T., but later raised in Edmonton.

Other Liberal MPs also posted messages online welcoming Idlout to the team.

“I’ve worked alongside (Lori Idlout) for many years and know the value she brings,” Justice Minister Sean Fraser wrote on X Tuesday night .  “We look forward to continuing that work together for Nunavut and for Canada.”

Idlout’s decision comes on the eve of a trip Carney is set to take to Canada’s North this week, as he places bolstering Arctic sovereignty and defence as a government priority.

The Liberal caucus is set to meet on Wednesday, as regularly scheduled.

Carney’s government recently announced millions of dollars in new funding for Inuit programs and plans to put $50 million from the government’s 2025 budget towards developing the country’s first Inuit-led university.

Last year, Idlout was one of the handful of opposition MPs who abstained from voting on the Liberals’ budget, helping to ensure that the government did not fall on a confidence vote, avoiding an election. 

In January, Idlout told CBC North that she had been approached about joining the Liberals by both constituents and those involved with the party, saying at the time that the prospect of doing so “weighed heavily on me,” but had concluded that “at this point that I can’t.”

Weeks later,  Idlout told National Post that conversations about her crossing the floor were still coming up, but she said she would tell her constituents she was more effective in opposition.

She also said that she took issue with the Carney government’s decision to legislate the fast-tracking of approvals for major infrastructure projects, saying it “disrespected” Indigenous rights.

Idlout’s move is a massive blow to the federal NDP, making them a caucus of just six. During last year’s election, she won her riding by fewer than 100 votes, with the Liberals in close second.

Her decision to leave the New Democrats comes just days after she endorsed filmmaker and activist Avi Lewis for NDP leader, with the party set to hold its leadership convention later this month.

National Post

• Half of Canadians say it would be unethical for Carney to get majority with floor crossers: poll
• NDP MP says she turned down Liberal offer to cross the floor

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