Browse Crossings

Deborah Grey was the very first Reform/Alliance MP ever elected. She and 12 other Alliance MPs publicly revolted against their leader Stockwell Day, accusing him of poor leaders…

One of the most dramatic ideological shifts - from the left-wing NDP all the way to the right-wing Progressive Conservatives.

Four Liberal and four PC members of the Saskatchewan legislature left their parties to create a brand new party - the Saskatchewan Party - uniting the right.

In 1993, the Liberals won a huge election partly by promising to eliminate the GST (sales tax). Once in power, they broke that promise. Nunziata voted against his own party's bu…

Holden represented English-speaking Westmount in a party that fought for English language rights. He crossed to the Parti Québécois - a French-first, pro-independence party. It …

Kilgour left the Conservatives over policy disagreements. He later joined the Liberals. Then in 2005, he left the Liberals too - one of only two people to cross the floor twice.

Bouchard was a cabinet minister under PM Mulroney. When the Meech Lake Accord (a constitutional deal meant to bring Quebec into the constitution) failed, Bouchard left the party…

Toupin left the Conservatives, tried to join the Liberals - but the Liberals said no. He briefly joined the NDP, then sat alone as an independent.

Horner was an Alberta Conservative who crossed to join Pierre Trudeau's Liberal cabinet. In Alberta, being a Liberal is almost unthinkable - this was a huge deal.

Calder was the first Indigenous person elected to any legislature in Canada, serving 26 years as a CCF/NDP member. He crossed to Social Credit, the governing party.

Hellyer left the Liberals, tried to start his own party, joined the Conservatives, then went back to the Liberals, then started another party. He crossed the floor more times th…

Lévesque believed Quebec should become its own country. The Liberals disagreed. So he left and eventually founded the Parti Québécois.

Argue ran to be leader of the new NDP but lost to Tommy Douglas. Bitter about the loss, he crossed to the Liberals.

Thatcher was a socialist MP, but over time his views shifted dramatically to the right. He left the CCF because he no longer believed in their policies.

During the Great Depression, Stevens investigated big companies that were exploiting workers and farmers. His own party tried to stop him. So he left and started his own party.

Andrews represented the heart of Winnipeg. When the government violently crushed the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, he couldn't stay in the party. He left to sit alone as an i…

Like Fielding, Carvell supported conscription during WWI and left the Liberals to join the Union Government.

Another Liberal who supported conscription during WWI and crossed the floor.

During World War I, the government wanted to force men to fight overseas (conscription). Fielding, a senior Liberal, supported conscription even though his party leader Wilfrid …

The WWI conscription crisis split the Liberal Party. Most English-speaking Liberal MPs supported conscription and crossed the floor to join the Union Government.

Howe led the fight against Nova Scotia joining Canada. When that fight was lost, he negotiated better financial terms for Nova Scotia, then joined the government.

Cartwright believed he deserved to be Finance Minister. When Prime Minister Macdonald gave the job to someone else, Cartwright left the party in anger.