Joe Comuzzi

Joseph R. "Joe" Comuzzi, a Liberal MP from Thunder Bay—Superior North since 1988, was suspended from the Liberal caucus in March 2007 after voting in favour of the Harper Conservatives' budget. Comuzzi, a fiscal conservative within the Liberal caucus, had been vocal about his support for the budget's provisions benefiting northern Ontario, including infrastructure investments. By June 2007, he formally crossed the floor to join the Conservative Party. His crossing reflected the tension between party discipline and regional representation that frequently drives floor crossings.

Comuzzi did not seek re-election in 2008 and retired from politics. His crossing was one of several in the 2006-2008 period as the Harper minority government tried to attract Liberal MPs. At 75 years old, Comuzzi's switch was seen less as career opportunism and more as the principled stand of a veteran who simply agreed more with the government than his own party.