Richard Janelle

Richard Janelle, one of the last Social Credit MPs, crossed the floor to join the Progressive Conservative Party in 1979 as it became clear that Social Credit had no future in federal politics. With the party reduced to near-extinction, Janelle pragmatically transferred his allegiance to Joe Clark's PCs, which were surging in Quebec as an alternative to Trudeau's Liberals. His crossing was less an act of ideological conversion than a survival decision — the Social Credit ship was sinking fast.

Janelle ran as a Progressive Conservative and the move proved timely: Clark's PCs won a minority government in the 1979 election. Social Credit was completely shut out, winning zero seats. The party would never recover. Janelle's crossing was among the last acts in the 40-year history of Social Credit as a force in Canadian federal politics.