Carney says floor-crossing MPs must support Liberal values on abortion, LGBTQ rights

In 2020, she said she would allow party members to introduce bills to restrict abortion, and in 2021 she was criticized for voting against a Liberal bill that banned conversion therapy. Shortly after that vote she issued a statement saying she “vehemently” opposes conversion therapy and supports the LGBTQ+ community.

At an unrelated news conference Thursday in Montérégie, Que., Carney was asked repeatedly about how Gladu’s previous remarks contradict some bedrock Liberal positions — and consistently replied that becoming a Liberal MP means supporting Liberal values.

“The Liberal party always will support the right of women to choose — always, without question,” Carney said.

The prime minister said all Liberal MPs are “subscribing to the values of the party, and the core element of our mission, which is to build Canada strong for all Canadians.”

Carney praised Gladu as “one of the most collaborative members of Parliament” and said she has a history of “working across party lines on important issues” and is “really dedicated to her electors.”

The Liberals are presenting Gladu’s defection as an indication that the party and the government welcome a diversity of viewpoints.

“We have our values, our values of solidarity, of inclusivity, of sustainability, of the rights of women, of all the rights in the Charter of Freedoms,” Carney said. “We have those core values. Those values don’t change.

“Others come to support the mission of the party and the government at this crucial time and we are fortunate that they take those decisions, because they bring expertise, they bring perspectives, they bring energy, and they will help us work together.”

A senior Liberal government source with knowledge of the discussions leading up to Gladu’s floor crossing, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the private talks, said communications with her started early in the year and continued for months.

The source said Gladu expressed an interest in the Liberals’ push to get big projects moving and to rebuild the military. Some of those conversations, the source said, were frank discussions about her previous stances on things like abortion and the Freedom Convoy.

The source said that when Gladu was told the party would not be bending on its policies, she was quite comfortable with that.

He did say, however, that Gladu will need to have conversations with Liberal MPs who are wary about sharing a caucus with her.

Chris D’Entremont and Matt Jeneroux were widely known to be moderates before they jumped ship from the Conservatives, while Michael Ma had only been a Conservative MP for eight months before his defection and had no obvious partisan stances. Lori Idlout jumped to the Liberals from the NDP in March.

Building trust, the source said, is part of the hard work of finding unity.

The source also said conversations on Gladu joining the Liberals were already well underway before Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre sent an email at the end of March to members of his “shadow cabinet” asking them to show what they had done in their roles. Gladu was the Conservative critic for civil liberties until she crossed the floor.

The Toronto Star first reported on the email on April 3 and said it had been sent to Conservative MPs on March 30.

Asked whether more Conservatives will be joining the Liberals shortly, the source said many more conversations are underway but would not indicate how many, or with whom.

When he was asked about more floor crossers, Carney joked that he is “often the last to know.”

“I will tell you in all seriousness, what has been the case is in each of these circumstances is that the individuals have come to people they know well in the Liberal caucus and expressed an interest in joining,” he said. “And then a conversation is evolved from that and near the end of the conversation is when I’ve met with those individuals. So I can’t tell you more than that, other than to describe the process.”

While Gladu may hold some beliefs at odds with those held by her new colleagues in the Liberal party, her views on climate change are largely in line with Carney’s approach.

In 2020, Gladu called for a “science-based approach” to climate change and expressed support for a “regulatory and incentivized approach” instead of the Trudeau-era carbon tax.

Poilievre accused Carney of “fabricating a costly majority government through dirty backroom deals” at an unrelated news conference in Richmond, B.C., on Thursday.

“I feel badly for Ms. Gladu’s constituents, the majority of whom voted for our Conservative vision of an affordable and safe Canada,” he said.

He said constituents should be able to launch a petition for a byelection when MPs cross the floor to join another party.

“We need to put people back in charge of their country at the ballot box,” he said.

Rob Oliphant, an openly gay Liberal MP, said on social media Thursday he was “pleased” to welcome Gladu to the “big tent party.”

“We have discussion. We have debate. We have disagreement. But at our core is a commitment to both social justice and economic prosperity. This proves that there is room for all in building Canada Strong,” he wrote.

Other MPs, including at least one Liberal, have signalled discontent with Gladu joining the caucus.

Former environment minister Steven Guilbeault reacted with a laughing emoji to a meme on social media Wednesday of a woman pouring a large drink, with this caption: “Steven Guilbeault seeing Marilyn Gladu walk into the caucus meeting.”

NDP MP Leah Gazan said in a media statement Wednesday that Gladu is a “far-right social conservative” and her decision to join the Liberal caucus is “outrageous but not surprising.”

Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said the ideological gap between the Liberals and Conservatives is shrinking.

“If you are a progressive Liberal in that Liberal caucus, you must start asking yourself, ‘Who the hell is talking for me?'” Blanchet said at a press conference in Terrebonne, Que., on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2026.

— With files from Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa and Morgan Lowrie in Montreal

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Carney says floor-crossing MPs must support Liberal values on abortion, LGBTQ rights

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