Narrowly-elected MP says to constituents: ‘I hope I will be able to prove to them that this was the right decision’Published Nov 06, 2025Last updated 3 hours ago9 minute readAcadie-Annapolis MP Chris d’Entremont hands out Canada flags during 2025 Canada Day festivities on Yarmouth’s waterfront. TINA COMEAUArticle contentWhen Chris d’Entremont woke up the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 4 – on federal budget day – the then-Conservative MP still didn’t know if he would be crossing the floor to join the governing Liberals.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentBut for a couple of months, the thought had been weighing heavily on his mind.Article contentArticle contentAnd while on that morning most Canadians had never heard of Chris d’Entremont, let alone be able to find the Acadie-Annapolis riding on a map, by day’s end that had changed.Article contentArticle contentThe Nova Scotia MP’s decision to cross the floor dominated the news and social media – even overshadowing the budget. His move to the Liberal caucus put the government just two seats away from a majority in the House of Commons.Article contentWhile d’Entremont has those who support his move, other reaction has been extreme anger. People have called him a traitor, saying he betrayed voters and Canadians.Article contentThere have been threats and the release of some of his personal information – some so concerning that there was security posted at his Yarmouth County home even while he was still in Ottawa.Article contentTHE NEGATIVITYArticle contentSo what made him do it?Article content“I just had enough of the negativity. I just didn’t feel right about things,” d’Entremont said in an Nov. 6 interview.Article contentEven before budget day, he had already had talks with some government members while sorting through his feelings. Prime Minister Mark Carney had also reached out.Article contentArticle content“I talked to (the) prime minister directly about the riding. About what my interests were. What I think we should be doing in it. He was very supportive of these things,” d’Entremont says, saying Carney sees Canada as being at a pivotal point.Article contentArticle content“Where we need to be working together to solve some of our challenges, whether it’s trade or others, to make Canada stronger. I like that message,” says d’Entremont.Article contentHe says in recent months when he and Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre had conversations about the direction of Canada, “I didn’t feel we were on the same page at all.”Article contentRelatedArticle contentD’Entremont calls himself a centrist. A Red Tory. Someone seeking to solve problems together rather than tearing people down and being negative.Article contentHowever on Nov. 4, as the day unfolded, his feelings got out. Politico reported he was pondering crossing the floor. While he had spoken with that media outlet, he didn’t know it was going to be publishing his comments. He had intended to take a few days after the budget to think things through.Article contentWhen the story came out, “things blew up by that point,” he says, saying when he got to his office, “I got yelled at by the Conservative House Leader. It made my decision far easier knowing that this was not my party anymore.”Article contentAsked if the news story forced his hand, he says it did.Article content“I still had people to talk to. I wasn’t 100 per cent there.” He still needed to talk to family. His sons. “I still wanted to give a few more people a heads up of what I was considering, hoping someone might talk me out of it. But quite honestly, nobody was talking me out of it.”Article content Back in 2023 when the riding was still known as West Nova – it’s now called Acadie-Annapolis – MP Chris d’Entremont added another pin to a portion of a riding map indicating the places which he’s visited, attended events at or had meetings in to help track where he’s been and where he still needs to go to. TINA COMEAU Photo by Tina Comeau /TINA COMEAUArticle contentBut truthfully, he says, the choice likely wasn’t his alone anymore. Had he not resigned from the Conservative caucus, he figures he would have been kicked out it.Article contentArticle contentBut even though his decision didn’t play out at the pace he thought it might, his main reason for leaving the caucus hadn’t changed.Article content“I just can’t deal with that negativity anymore,” he says, saying he didn’t feel represented by his party anymore.Article content“Then we started to play this game of chicken in the House of Commons, of whether or not the opposition would be voting for the federal budget,” he says, which could trigger an election.Article contentEven though on social media, many who oppose the Liberal government say they want an election, d’Entremont says constituents were telling him they didn’t want to go back to polls for the second time in one year.Article content“So my decision is based on giving the Liberals enough numbers to get that budget passed so that we can move on and try and try – at a pivotal time in our country – to make changes that are needed for the long term.”Article contentArticle contentD’Entremont has said there have been other Conservative MPs with similar feelings about the party. But he conceded that after the extreme public reaction to his move to the Liberals, others might be reluctant to follow in his footsteps.Article content“I’m guessing that at caucus on Wednesday morning (Nov. 5) that they were read the riot act,” he says, suggesting MPs would feel forced into submission.Article contentStill, the opposition Conservatives will be down another member. On Nov. 6, Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux announced he will be resigning from the House of Commons.Article contentHis ridingArticle contentD’Entremont has said he consulted with riding constituents while weighing whether to remain in the Conservative caucus. Asked how this consultation occurred, he says it’s been ongoing since the spring election. He says people who would have normally voted for him, or voted Conservative, told him they couldn’t bring themselves to do it because of Poilievre.Article contentHe says this same sentiment was repeated throughout the summer.Article contentWhile d’Entremont won his seat in the 2025 April election, it was no landslide. Just 1.1 per cent of the vote – 533 votes – separated him and Liberal candidate Ronnie LeBlanc. He was the only Conservative elected in Nova Scotia. The other 10 ridings voted Liberal.Article content Acadie-Annapolis then-Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont was greeted by supporters and family in Digby after being re-elected to serve the riding in the April 2025 federal vote. TINA COMEAUArticle contentSince d’Entremont crossed the floor, there has been debate and disagreement on social media on how and why people vote.Article contentD’Entremont has won every election he’s run in, dating back to his initial foray into provincial politics 17 years before switching to federal politics. He was first elected as a Conservative MP in October 2019 and was re-elected in 2021 and 2025. Twice he’s been the only Conservative candidate elected in the province – in 2019 and 2025.Article contentD’Entremont says people cast their votes for a variety of reasons. He’s seen voting coalitions. Voting based on parties and platforms. People voting for the person. People voting against a candidate due to that party’s leader.Article contentArticle contentDuring the 2003 Nova Scotia election, a life-long PC voter even told d’Entremont she had to vote for his Liberal opponent because that person drove her vehicle to the car dealership whenever it needed repairs.Article contentReflectionArticle contentHe’s reflected a lot on the 2025 April election.Article content“I’ve been thinking about this all summer. And I haven’t 100 per cent decided if I’m running again. It’s not about political survival. It’s how do I best represent the people … In this particular case, I had to put politics aside and think about, what’s the right thing here?”Article content MP Chris d’Entremont speaking at an event in April 2025 in West Dover. RYAN TAPLIN PHOTO Photo by Ryan TaplinArticle contentMany people call d’Entremont’s decision sour grapes because the Conservatives didn’t back him for the Speaker of the House position. “Did it upset me at the time? Sure. But I’m over that,” he says. “It had no bearing whatsoever on this.”Article contentSomething that did factor into his decision is the federal budget. He sees things in it that hit priorities he identifies in his riding. The budget outlines a big investment in infrastructure nation-wide, which will stimulate the Canadian economy at a time when it’s needed. The continuation of the New Horizons seniors’ program is something else d’Entremont highlights.Article contentArticle contentAsked if there are things he doesn’t like about the budget, d’Entremont says the projected deficit is concerning. The budget projects a deficit of $78 billion for 2025-2026.Article content“I’m still a fiscal conservative,” he says. “That is a large deficit. We need to be careful on how we’re spending. There is a mechanism within this budget that is bringing year-to-year spending down.”Article contentTHE ANGERArticle contentAsked if he anticipated the amount of anger being directed at him, d’Entremont says the scope has surprised him. “But I was expecting all of those things,” he says.Article content“There is some coordinated negativity being pumped out. We’re seeing it all over social media, to the point where I’ve turned all of my socials off … My information has been displayed on a number of these right-wing websites, to the point where I now have to have security at my house.”Article contentHe says a lot of hostility is directed from the right-wing. “Which, once again, justifies my decision. I find the party is getting too right-wing,” he says.Article contentBut not everyone who is angered, hurt or feeling betrayed is part of a right-wing group. They are people who voted Conservative in his riding because they wanted change. They are frustrated by Liberal governments. They supported the platform that d’Entremont was running on just over six months ago.Article content“I hope I will be able to prove to them that this was the right decision. That being part of a government for a first time in a long time will benefit our area,” d’Entremont says. “I also need to prove that there is still some base philosophies that I have as a progressive conservative that I hope I’m able to share with this Liberal government.”Article contentOn the flip side, he has people who are very supportive of his decision, as they too have grown tired of the negativity and leadership style of the Conservative party.Article content Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont was all smiles while on stage with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and then-MP Rick Perkins during a 2024 National Acadian Day concert at the Yarmouth Airport, which was part of the Congres mondial acadien that the region had hosted. TINA COMEAUArticle contentStill, others say if d’Entremont was disillusioned by his party, why not sit as an independent? But he says sitting as an independent you’re “incapable of doing anything at all.”Article contentArticle contentHe didn’t fully resign because there is much he still wants to accomplish. So he went with the third option: joining the government caucus, where he has direct access to ministers to talk about the issues and challenges from his riding.Article contentThere are people saying that d’Entremont was their voice to hold the Liberal government accountable for what is happening, or not happening, in the fisheries in Nova Scotia and now this is lost.Article contentHe disagrees that he’s lost this ability. He says his statements about the fishery from the past are still valid. “Enforcement has to change in southwestern Nova Scotia,” he says. “We have to have one set of seasons and one set of rules. That will not change in my advocacy.”Article contentAsked on Nov. 6 what’s been the hardest thing of the past couple of days and what’s been the best, d’Entremont says the worst thing has been the effect on his family. “I know they feel the stress sometimes just as much as I do. I do worry about them. And I worry about my staff,” he says.Article content“The best thing is walking into that Liberal caucus and being welcomed in as a friend, open arms with hugs,” he says, saying he couldn’t recall the last time he felt that way with his old caucus.Article contentAsked if the Conservative party needs a new leader, d’Entremont says, “I think they desperately need a new leader. They need to do some soul searching right now.”Article contentAs for his own soul searching, says d’Entremont, “I want to be building something and helping something, rather than just complaining.”Article contentArticle content
Chris d’Entremont, self-described ‘Red Tory’, joined the Liberals because he ‘had enough of the negativity’
