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All Floor Crossings
Every documented case of a Canadian MP, MPP, MLA, MNA, or MHA switching parties — federal and provincial, 1867 to present. Filter by level, province, or category.
218 crossings
WJ
William James Hammell
1922Progressive → LiberalMPOntario
2/5
Hammell, Progressive MP for Muskoka, rejoined the Liberal Party as the Progressive movement began fracturing.
Changed Beliefs
AK
Andrew Knox
1919Liberal-Unionist → ProgressiveMPSaskatchewan
3/5
Knox, elected as a Liberal-Unionist in 1917, joined the growing Progressive movement in 1919 as prairie farmers organized politically against the traditional parties.
Changed Beliefs
George William Andrews
1919NotableLiberal-Unionist → IndependentMPManitoba
0/5
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…
Stood on Principle
Frank Broadstreet Carvell
1917NotableLiberal → Liberal-UnionistMPNew Brunswick
4/5
Like Fielding, Carvell supported conscription during WWI and left the Liberals to join the Union Government.
War & ConscriptionGot Cabinet
HA
Honoré Achim
1917Conservative → Laurier-LiberalMPQuebec
0/5
Achim, a Conservative MP from Quebec, broke with the party over the conscription crisis and re-aligned with the Laurier Liberals opposing compulsory military service.
War & Conscription
Hugh Guthrie
1917NotableLiberal → UnionistMPOntario
4/5
Another Liberal who supported conscription during WWI and crossed the floor.
War & ConscriptionGot Cabinet
William Stevens Fielding
1917NotableLiberal → Liberal-UnionistMPNova Scotia
2/5
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 …
War & ConscriptionGot Cabinet
~L
~17 Liberal-Unionist MPs (Conscription Crisis)
1917NotableLiberal → UnionistMP
3/5
The Conscription Crisis of 1917 shattered the Liberal Party along linguistic and regional lines. When Prime Minister Robert Borden introduced the Military Service Act to impose …
War & ConscriptionGot Cabinet
Louis-Joseph Papineau
1911Liberal → ConservativeMPQuebec
2/5
Papineau, Liberal MP since 1908, ran and was re-elected as a Conservative in the 1911 election. He later reversed course in 1917, leaving the Conservatives to oppose conscriptio…
Switched Sides
DL
David-Arthur Lafortune
1909Liberal → Independent LiberalMPQuebec
1/5
David-Arthur Lafortune, a Quebec Liberal MP, broke from the Liberal caucus to sit as an Independent Liberal around 1909, reflecting internal tensions within the Quebec Liberal c…
Fought Their Leader
Henri Bourassa
1900NotableLiberal → IndependentMPQuebec
4/5
Henri Bourassa, grandson of Louis-Joseph Papineau and Liberal MP for Labelle, resigned his seat in 1899 to protest Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier's decision to send Canadian tro…
Stood on Principle
John Costigan
1900NotableLiberal-Conservative → LiberalMPNew Brunswick
3/5
John Costigan had served as a Conservative MP for over 30 years and had been a cabinet minister under four Conservative prime ministers — John A. Macdonald, John Abbott, John Th…
Changed Beliefs
James Domville
1896Conservative → LiberalMPNew Brunswick
4/5
James Domville, a Conservative MP from Kings County, New Brunswick, and former militia colonel, switched to the Liberal Party around 1896 as the Conservative coalition showed si…
Switched Sides
Dalton McCarthy
1893NotableConservative → IndependentMPOntario
1/5
D'Alton McCarthy, one of the most prominent Conservative MPs and a close ally of John A. Macdonald, broke with the Conservative Party over the Manitoba Schools Question — whethe…
Stood on Principle
Joseph-Israël Tarte
1893NotableConservative → LiberalMPQuebec
4/5
Joseph-Israël Tarte, a Quebec Conservative journalist and politician, had been one of the party's most effective organizers in Quebec. However, he became disillusioned with the …
Fought Their LeaderGot Cabinet
Guillaume Amyot
1887Conservative → NationalistMPQuebec
1/5
Amyot, Conservative MP for Bellechasse, left the Conservative caucus to sit as a Nationalist, protesting the execution of Louis Riel and the government's treatment of French Can…
Stood on Principle
JW
John Wallace
1883Liberal → Liberal-ConservativeMPOntario
2/5
John Wallace, a Liberal MP from Ontario, crossed the floor to join the Liberal-Conservative Party in 1883. Like several Ontario MPs of the era, Wallace was attracted by John A. …
Changed Beliefs
CF
Chauveau, Flynn, Fortin, Pâquet, Racicot
1879NotableQuebec Liberal → ConservativeMNAQuebec
5/5
Five Quebec Liberal MLAs — Alexandre Chauveau, Edmund James Flynn, Louis Napoléon Fortin, Étienne-Théodore Pâquet, and Ernest Racicot — crossed the floor to the Conservatives in…
Switched SidesGot Cabinet
Samuel McDonnell
1874Conservative → LiberalMPNova Scotia
2/5
McDonnell, Conservative MP from Inverness, crossed to the Liberals in the wake of the Pacific Scandal.
Changed Beliefs
Newton LeGayet MacKay
1873Conservative → LiberalMPNova Scotia
3/5
MacKay, Conservative MP from Cape Breton, crossed to the Liberals in 1873 during the Pacific Scandal crisis that brought down John A. Macdonald's government.
Changed Beliefs
Alfred Gilpin Jones
1872NotableIndependent → LiberalMPNova Scotia
4/5
Alfred Gilpin Jones, elected as an Anti-Confederate in 1867 and then sitting as an Independent, gradually aligned with the Liberal Party by 1872 as the anti-Confederation moveme…
Changed BeliefsGot Cabinet
1A
14 Anti-Confederate MPs join various parties
1869NotableAnti-Confederate → VariousMPNova Scotia
3/5
When Joseph Howe negotiated better terms for Nova Scotia and joined the federal cabinet, 14 remaining Anti-Confederate MPs followed suit, joining the Liberal-Conservatives or Li…
Party Dissolved
Joseph Howe
1869NotableAnti-Confederate → Liberal-ConservativeMPNova Scotia
5/5
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.
Party DissolvedGot Cabinet
Richard John Cartwright
1869NotableLiberal-Conservative → LiberalMPOntario
5/5
Cartwright believed he deserved to be Finance Minister. When Prime Minister Macdonald gave the job to someone else, Cartwright left the party in anger.
Wanted PromotionGot Cabinet