Edgar Chaps

Trust in politics is a fickle concept. Some citizens do not trust their elected representatives, period. In most other cases, the trust bond between a member of the legislative chamber and the public is complicated. We’d like to believe most of what they preach, although examples of representatives keeping 100 per cent of their word are far and few between. But about when an elected official opts out of the political formation they earned votes for and joins another?

Conservative Party Bleeding Chips

When news broke out on Wednesday, February 18^th, that Matt Jeneroux, MP for the riding of Edmonton Riverbend (Alberta), was to “cross the floor” in the House of Commons from the Conservative Party to the Liberal Party, the pillars of power politics in the nation’s capital shook once again.

It’s been a wild ride since the autumn 2025 parliamentary session. There were some supposed peekaboo tactics when a significant vote of confidence was being held for the budget in November. Two Conservative MPs, Andrew Sheer (former party leader, for that matter) and Scott Reid couldn’t make it on time until after every other member of parliament had cast theirs due to dubious issues with the electronic voting app. The question of whether the federal budget passes or not is not only traditionally a vote of confidence, but even if it weren’t, the budget is a big deal in its own right. It consists of taxpayers’ money. Wouldn’t an MP vehemently opposed to a suggested budget do their utmost to either ensure the app functioned properly or, failing that, be present in the House at the time of counting? 

But of course, that was, perhaps shockingly, the least of the Conservatives’ worries. Nay, no fewer than a trio of their own are, well, no longer their own. Matt Jeneroux is the most recent to change their colours. Before him were Michael Ma in December 2025 and, before that, Chris d’Entremont in November 2025.

Not only does the Jeneroux move occur after plenty of rumours about his former party apparently bullying him into not crossing last fall (hence the initial public declaration on his part that he would retire from politics sometime in the spring), but it is only weeks after the party leader Pierre Poilievre earned sizeable support at a party convention in late January. That was supposed to somewhat quell the questions surrounding his future at the helm. 

But apparently, when it comes to the Conservatives, when it rains, it pours. Poilievre has also had to answer questions about another MP, albeit not a floor crosser. Ontario representative Jamil Jivani, who is a long-time friend of United States vice president JD Vance, spoke to an American news outlet whilst visiting the neighbours to the south and said that Canadians aren’t doing themselves any favours by having an anti-American hissy-fit. 

Trust: Hard to Build, Easy to Break

In situations such as the one we’re witnessing on the federal political scene, notions of confidence and trust are sent into a tailspin. In more ways than one, in fact.

First and foremost, there is the party leader, in this case, Pierre Poilievre. He and his troops were achingly close to winning a general election in April 2025, but fell at the final hurdle. Nevertheless, the Conservative Party put in a decent showing, garnering 41.3% of the popular vote and sending 144 MPs to Ottawa. That’s honestly quite good for the Official Opposition. But with the three aforementioned representatives now donning Liberal red (although some would say this is a “blue Liberal Party”), bonds of trust are bruised if not shattered between Poilievre and the trio. 

Second, there are the other remaining 140 Conservative MPs. They probably don’t find the situation all that cool either. Their staff members, like the staff members of any MP of any political stripe, might feel betrayed as well. 

Last but most certainly not least are the members of the electoral. On the one hand, the electorate at large who cast their ballots for the Conservative Party last spring, but specifically those in the ridings who were strong enough in number to send Matt Jeneroux, Michael Ma, and Chris d’Entremont to the House of Commons under the Conservative banner. 

What are the people of Edmonton Riverbend, Markham-Unionville, and Acadie-Annapolis supposed to think of this? One of the first things I did each time there was a floor crossing was watch a news report from the ridings concerned in which ordinary people were asked to express their thoughts. 

The answers were intriguingly mixed. Some, justifiably, didn’t take kindly to it. They didn’t vote for any of them as Liberals. Others admitted that, under the present geo-political circumstances, maybe it was more important to have a strong, united governing party. That would facilitate taking care of business, both at home and with the country’s various international partners.

The mere fact that the reactions were mixed says so much about how certain things that, on surface level, should feel obvious are, in fact, not so. Is the section of the electorate that feels betrayed “right?” Is the section of the electorate that understands the crisis of conscience the three politicians lived through “right?” As is so often the case, the truth is somewhere in that foggy, grey area middle. 

The Importance of the Ballot

But before anyone reading this concludes that what Ma, d’Entremont, and Jeneroux did was yet another reason why politicians can’t be trusted and it’s not worth casting a ballot, consider the following.

All three have taken a major career gamble. Yes, they are now on the side that governs the country. That’s surely more rewarding and exciting than being stuck in opposition. But there will be another election. If it isn’t when the current minority government falls in a vote of confidence, then, at the latest, in October 2029 (yes, there is a trio of by-elections looming that may grant Mark Carney his majority, but that’s another topic for another time).

In other words, if the fine people of those three ridings are still miffed about what their representatives did in the fall of 2025 and winter of 2026, then by golly let them know at the polls. Therein lies the complicated beauty of a democracy like Canada’s. It’s not always simple, and the rules are complicated, but at the end of the day, there is an avenue for the public to say either “Yes, we like this, keep it up!” or “Huh, no, we don’t like that. Let’s give somebody else a try.”

What better way for the public to reiterate its trust in an official or to hammer home the point that said trust is gone? Trust the process.