Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux announced Thursday he is resigning from the House of Commons, according to a statement shared with CBC News.
The decision comes after rumours swirled this week that the Alberta member was considering crossing the floor to the Liberals. Conservative sources say Jeneroux was under pressure from some in the party over fears he was going to defect.
Jeneroux’s resignation is the second announced departure from the Conservative caucus this week after Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont joined the Liberals on Tuesday.
It would also prompt a byelection for his Edmonton seat, which he won by a relatively narrow margin of five percentage points over his Liberal opponent in April.
Jeneroux, who was first elected in 2015, said he spoke with Chris Warkentin, the party’s whip, earlier Thursday to tell him of his intention to resign.
“I hope to have the opportunity to address the House one final time in the future. For now, my focus must turn entirely to my family and to the responsibilities that come with that,” Jeneroux said.
The MP said he was “deeply grateful” for those who have reached out to him in recent days while also urging people to “please not attempt to contact my family during this time.”
Jeneroux said he ran in the last election “hopeful that Canadians would put their faith in a team led by Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives,” and he “wanted desperately to play a role in that vision” but “the outcome was not what I anticipated.”
Once news of d’Entremont’s floor-crossing broke, Conservatives moved to quickly quell any more departures, sources told CBC News.
The d’Entremont defection prompted panic inside the party that more MPs were poised to leave for the Liberals, possibly giving the government at least two more seats and a majority in the House of Commons, Conservative sources said.
In the hours since d’Entremont’s decision to resign, Conservative party brass have been trying to persuade potential floor-crossers to drop their plans, sources said.
Former Conservative campaign manager Jenni Byrne, who is still an adviser to the party, has been involved in the party’s efforts to quell possible floor-crossings, sources said.
Senior Conservatives feel that these efforts to staunch the bleeding have worked — at least for now, a source said.
Conservative MPs react to Chris d’Entremont crossing the floor
A number of MPs who were rumoured to be leaving the party have said they are, in fact, not going to the Liberals.
Quebec MP Dominique Vien posted a video on social media reaffirming she is a Conservative.
“I have no intention of crossing the floor of the House,” she said in French.
Even with public denials and private pressure, senior Liberals still believe there could be further defections, Liberal sources said.
The Liberals have had discussions with multiple Conservative MPs about crossing the floor, sources said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked Wednesday if he is having those discussions and said: “We’ll speak to anyone publicly or otherwise who can support us.”
D’Entremont told reporters he knows of some former Conservative caucus mates who “are in the same boat” as him — they are feeling disaffected with Poilievre’s leadership style — and they could follow him to the Liberals.
It’s in that context that Warkentin urged the caucus to stick together at the party’s Wednesday meeting on Parliament Hill, Conservative sources said.
One of those sources described Warkentin’s pep talk as a “kumbaya” moment where he talked about the value of party unity.
