John Herron

John Herron, a Progressive Conservative MP for Fundy—Royal since 1997, was one of the last three sitting PC MPs to refuse to join the new Conservative Party of Canada when it was formed on February 2, 2004. Herron sat as an Independent, still recognized as a Progressive Conservative despite the party's formal merger with the Alliance. Herron was a Red Tory environmentalist who had championed the Species at Risk Act and opposed the Alliance's positions on environmental issues and social policy. He viewed the merger as the death of a distinct Canadian political tradition that had produced leaders like Stanfield, Clark, and the Mulroney of the acid rain treaty.

Herron ran for the Liberal Party in the June 2004 election in Fundy—Royal but was defeated by new Conservative Rob Moore. His jump from PC holdout to Liberal candidate was seen by some as pragmatic and by others as a betrayal — though Herron argued the Liberal Party was closer to his vision of progressive conservatism than Harper's new Conservative Party. He later served as a senior advisor in New Brunswick provincial politics.