All Floor Crossings

Graham Lea

1985

NDP → BC ConservativeMLABritish Columbia

0/5

Lea, NDP MLA for Prince Rupert and former cabinet minister, left the NDP after losing the 1984 leadership race. He sat briefly with the United Party before joining the BC Conser…

Ittinuar, the first Inuk elected to Parliament (NDP, Nunatsiaq), crossed to the Liberals, reportedly under pressure and the promise of advancement for northern issues.

William Yurko, a Progressive Conservative MP for Edmonton East and former Alberta provincial cabinet minister, broke with his party in January 1982 over fundamental disagreement…

Collver, former leader of the Saskatchewan PCs, and fellow MLA Dennis Ham left to form the Unionest Party, which controversially advocated for western Canadian provinces joining…

Rideout, a Newfoundland Liberal MHA, crossed to the PCs over his opposition to the federal government's handling of offshore resource ownership, siding with Brian Peckford's pos…

Ralph Wesley Stewart, a Liberal MP from British Columbia, crossed the floor to join the Progressive Conservative Party in 1979. Stewart's crossing came during a period when the …

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 f…

James Armstrong Richardson

1978Notable

Liberal → IndependentMPManitoba

0/5

Richardson, former Defence Minister, resigned from the Liberal cabinet and caucus over his opposition to official bilingualism and the government's language policies.

René Matte, one of the last remaining Créditiste MPs in the House of Commons, was expelled from what remained of the Social Credit/Créditiste caucus in 1978. By this point, the …

Stanley Stanford Schumacher, a Conservative MP from Palliser in Alberta, left the PC caucus to sit as an Independent in 1978 over a dispute with party leader Joe Clark. Schumach…

Thatcher, Saskatchewan Liberal MLA for Thunder Creek and son of former Premier Ross Thatcher, defected to the PCs over dissatisfaction with the provincial Liberal party's direct…

Gilbert Rondeau, a Créditiste/Social Credit MP from Quebec, was expelled from the Social Credit caucus around 1977 during the death throes of the Social Credit movement in feder…

Jack Horner

1977Notable

Progressive Conservative → LiberalMPAlberta

4/5

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.

Jacques Lavoie, a Progressive Conservative MP from Quebec, crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party in 1977. His switch came during a period of intense political flux in Queb…

Frank Calder

1975Notable

NDP → Social CreditMLABritish Columbia

3/5

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.

Three BC Liberal MLAs crossed to Social Credit as the free-enterprise coalition consolidated against the NDP. This effectively merged the BC Liberals into Social Credit.

Curtis, a BC Conservative MLA, crossed to Social Credit as part of the consolidation of the free-enterprise coalition against the Barrett NDP government.

Paul Hellyer

1972

Independent → Progressive ConservativeMPOntario

0/5

After leaving the Liberals to sit as an independent in 1971, Hellyer joined the Progressive Conservatives in 1972, hoping to run for the PC leadership.

Raymond Rock

1972

Liberal → New Democratic PartyMPQuebec

0/5

Rock, Liberal MP for Lachine, crossed to the NDP over disagreements with the Liberal government's policies.

Roch La Salle, a Progressive Conservative MP from Joliette in Quebec, briefly sat as an Independent in the early 1970s during a dispute with PC leader Robert Stanfield. La Salle…

Paul Hellyer

1971Notable

Liberal → IndependentMPOntario

0/5

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…

Ryan, Liberal MP for Toronto Spadina, crossed to the Progressive Conservatives over policy disagreements with the Trudeau government.

Gordon Minto Churchill

1968Notable

Progressive Conservative → Independent Progressive ConservativeMPManitoba

0/5

Gordon Churchill was a towering figure in Progressive Conservative politics — one of John Diefenbaker's most loyal cabinet ministers who served as Minister of Trade and Commerce…

Lucien Lamoureux

1968Notable

Liberal → IndependentMPOntario

4/5

Lucien Lamoureux, the Liberal MP for Stormont—Dundas in eastern Ontario, chose to sit as an Independent in 1968 when he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons. While Speake…