Politics·UpdatedNova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont resigned from the Conservative caucus Tuesday — and he’s joining the Liberals.Liberals are 2 seats shy of majority with floor-crossingJohn Paul Tasker · CBC News · Posted: Nov 04, 2025 5:25 PM EST | Last Updated: 18 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesMP Chris D’Entremont is out of the Conservative caucus. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont resigned from the Conservative caucus Tuesday — and he’s joining the Liberals.In a statement disseminated by the Liberal Party, d’Entremont said he decided to leave the Conservatives after “serious consideration and thoughtful conversations with constituents.” “I came to a clear conclusion: there is a better path forward for our country — and a better path forward for Acadie-Annapolis,” he said.d’Entremont won that eastern Nova Scotia riding by about one percentage point over his Liberal opponent in the spring federal election.”Prime Minister Mark Carney is offering that path with a new budget that hits the priorities I have heard most in my riding, to build strong community infrastructure and grow a stronger economy. That is why I’m joining the government caucus,” he said.The longtime Conservative, who served in provincial politics before being elected to the House of Commons in 2019, said Canada’s challenges demand people lead “not with complaint” — a thinly veiled swipe at Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre — “but with confidence in a strong future.”With this imminent floor-crossing, the Liberals will soon hold 170 seats — just two short of a majority.d’Entremont’s departure means the minority Liberal government needs fewer opposition votes to get the budget through the House of Commons.’Big tent’ LiberalsLiberal whip Mark Gerretsen said his party is a “big tent” and there’s “always seats on our side for people who want to join.”Gerretsen said d’Entremont was leaving the Conservatives because the party has become more stridently right-wing under Poilievre.”The reality is what we’re seeing in the Conservative Party is that the progressive movement is dead. Quite frankly, Chris is a Progressive Conservative,” Gerretsen said.Rob Batherson, a fellow Nova Scotian and past president of the federal Conservatives, said d’Entremont’s departure is “the worst personal betrayal I have ever experienced in 30-plus years of politics.””After the last election, Chris d’Entremont told me repeatedly that he would be Nova Scotia’s voice in Canada’s Official Opposition. He has deprived Nova Scotians of that voice and broke his personal word to me. I never imagined I would be in a position to not trust Chris d’Entremont,” he said.Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman meanwhile said d’Entremont was betraying his constituents.”Chris made a choice and I think the choice is to not fight inflation, not to fight to lower grocery prices like his constituents elected him to do,” she said in an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics shortly after the news broke.Conservative MP Aaron Gunn was even more blunt: “He’s a coward,” he told reporters.Conservative MP Dominique Vien said she was “surprised and disappointed” that d’Entremont is leaving.ABOUT THE AUTHORJ.P. Tasker is a journalist in CBC’s parliamentary bureau who reports for digital, radio and television. He is also a regular panellist on CBC News Network’s Power & Politics. He covers the Conservative Party, Canada-U.S. relations, Crown-Indigenous affairs, health policy and the Senate. You can send story ideas and tips to J.P. at jp.tasker@cbc.caFollow J.P. on XWith files from Kate McKenna
Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont resigns from Conservative caucus to join the Liberals
