Parties tight lipped after local MP approached, Prof. says nothing illegal in request

Jan 9, 2026 | 11:18 AM

Claims that the Liberal Party of Canada tried to entice a local Member of Parliament to cross the floor has not resulted in any movement from the parties involved, and a local political science expert said there was nothing wrong with a party trying to bolster its ranks.

Scott Anderson, Conservative MP for Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee, claimed in a social media post on January 5 that the Liberals asked him to cross the floor and join the governing party.

In the post, Anderson said he would not be leaving his party, stating it would be a betrayal of his constituents and his office, and doubled down on supporting Pierre Poilievre as the party’s leader.

Vernon Matters reached out to both Anderson and the Liberal Party.

In a response to a request for further information on the ask that he cross the floor, Anderson said he would be “withholding comment pending Prime Minister Carney’s denial that Conservative Members of Parliament are being solicited by Liberals.”

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The Liberal’s communication team neither confirmed nor denied that the party reached out to Anderson.

“While we have no added updates on our caucus at this time, we’re ready to work ollaboratively with Parliamentarians from all parties to build a stronger Canada, and we welcome all support for the serious solutions we are bringing forward,” the Liberals said in an email to Vernon Matters.

The prospect of Anderson crossing the floor has raised some concerns on social media platforms that the Liberals were playing dirty in an attempt to form a majority government, but a local professor said this was not an anomaly.

“There is nothing illegal about the government seeking floor crossers, although there have been proposals, and even a failed bill for restricting floor crossing (e.g. C-306 in 2011, which was defeated at second reading),” Dr. Geoffrey Sigalet, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Power, Conflict and Ideas at UBC Okanagan, said in an email to Vernon Matters.

“Floor crossing is part of most Westminster systems.” Churchill did it twice.

Sigalet did note that certain tactics could violate anti-bribery and corruption laws, but said there were no indications that was the case thus far.

Earlier this term, Conservative MPs Chris d’Entremont and Michael Ma broke ranks to join the Liberal Party, reportedly citing concerns with Poilievre’s leadership as one of the factors in their decisions to cross the floor.

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by Liam Verster

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