Reaction to MP Chris d’Entremont’s move from the Conservative Party to the ruling Liberal Party is making waves in Nova Scotia, with some fully supporting his decision and others saying he misrepresented his intentions to voters.
D’Entremont, who represents Acadie-Annapolis, told reporters Wednesday that he left the conservative group because he no longer felt represented in leader Pierre Poilievre’s party.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Linda Gregory, director of Digby District Municipality, told CBC News on Wednesday. “I think Poilievre is a right-winger. I personally would run too.”
Still, Gregory, whose municipality lies within d’Entremont’s southwest Nova Scotia, said the longtime politician’s move was unexpected because he has always been known as a “staunch conservative.”
“But he also has a lot of integrity. He’s also a very caring person, who cares about his community, what’s best. And to me, when he walked across the court, he made a decision that was very heartbreaking for him: to make the best decision for our community,” Gregory said.
D’Entremont was first elected to the Nova Scotia Legislature in 2003 as a Progressive Conservative. He was re-elected four times and held multiple cabinet positions before considering the federal seat of West Nova, now Acadie-Annapolis. He became the only non-Liberal MP elected in Nova Scotia in the 2019 federal election.
Gregory said he hopes having d’Entremont in the Liberal caucus will lead to action on important local issues, including Highway 101 twinning.
“We need the feds to be on the side of the province to achieve this,” the director said.
‘Maybe it’s a good thing, maybe it’s a bad thing’
John Cunningham, Yarmouth District Council manager, said he was surprised by Tuesday’s crossing and that people he spoke to had mixed feelings.
Cunningham, who once ran unsuccessfully for the provincial Progressive Conservatives, said he’s not sure how d’Entremont’s decision will affect his municipality, where major issues include fishing, infrastructure and tourism.
“I have yet to talk to him about how our priorities will be presented to the government, so maybe it’s a good thing, maybe it’s a bad thing. Until I talk to him, I have no idea,” Cunningham told CBC News, adding that he had already contacted d’Entremont in a text message.
“It’s not about party, it’s about leadership”
Pam Mood, mayor of the city of Yarmouth, said d’Entremont is a friend and supports her decision.
“I think it was a good move, obviously. He knows what the community needs,” said Mood, who briefly sought the federal Liberal nomination in West Nova in 2019. “It’s not about the party, it’s about leadership.”
Mood said there would be “better chances” of securing federal funding for projects with an MP on the government side.
“When you have things lined up, it’s a lot better,” he said.
Voter reaction is mixed
About 189 kilometers away, voters in Kingston, N.S., were divided.
“It’s disturbing,” Steve Mosher said. “I supported Chris in the last election under the leadership of Pierre Poilievre, as did my wife. So, honestly, we were both a little upset to see this happen.”
Len Gregory said he was glad d’Entremont was moving to the Liberal group and credited the MP for taking “his time to think about the things he wanted and felt we wanted”.
Another voter, Fred Huntley, said he was “more or less neutral on the matter.”
“I’m not worried,” Huntley said. “It’s done us a lot of good.”
Sense of betrayal
Rob Batherson, former president of the Conservative Party of Canada, said d’Entremont betrayed his voters.
He said d’Entremont’s decision leaves Nova Scotia with a “Liberal monopoly.”
“I stood on a dock in West Dover with Chris d’Entremont and [former Tory MP] Rick Perkins and others with fishermen during the federal election, where we promised them we would fight for them, and Chris gave up that fight,” Batherson told CBC News in an interview Wednesday.
Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont surprised the Conservative Party by crossing the floor Tuesday to join Premier Mark Carney’s Liberals. Rob Batherson, former chairman of the Conservative Party, said he had never felt more betrayed in more than 30 years of politics. Watch her interview with Amy Smith.
Kevin Surette, a conservative pundit who has served on nearly all of d’Entremont’s campaigns, said it would not have been an easy decision to leave the caucus.
“Chris has been a close personal friend for a long time; I knew Chris long before politics and will continue to call him a friend long after he leaves politics,” Surette told CBC News in an email.
“I know that in making this decision, he would have been weighing what he fundamentally and deep down believes is right for his constituents and for Canada, despite the personal consequences for him.”
Why was the move shocking?
Alex Marland, a professor of Canadian politics at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., said d’Entremont’s move was surprising given the timing: announcing it at the same time as the federal budget.
“Crossing the floor is such a polarizing and disruptive thing that we would be more likely to see people sitting as independents to express their discontent. As an independent, you can still vote with the government,” Marland said.
“It’s much more shocking to me that you saw Chris d’Entremont cross the room directly from the conservatives to the liberals.”
Marland said in his research that the number one reason for crossing the court is dissatisfaction with leadership.
Without d’Entremont, there are no longer Nova Scotia Conservatives in the caucus.
Marland said the Conservative Party will have to do more to better align itself with the Atlantic region.
On Tuesday, the Acadie-Annapolis MP confirmed he left the Conservative caucus to join the ruling Liberals. Taryn Grant has the story.
MORE TOP STORIES
