A Majority Liberal Government Promises More Action from Canada’s Governing Political Party

On Monday, April 28, 2025, the Liberal Party of Canada won 169 seats in the last federal election, which was three seats shy of the 172 required to form a majority government. Since then, the Liberals saw two retirements and one election result suspended through a court decision, bringing them down to 166 seats in the House of Commons. However, the Liberals have recently benefitted from five floor crossings occurring from November 2025 to April 2026: four from the Conservative Party and one from the New Democratic Party (NDP), which brought their number of seats up to 171 as of April 8, 2026. Then, on April 13, the Liberals won three by-elections, giving them the majority of seats in the House of Commons with 174 seats. 

The consequences of these events are far-reaching in terms of the government’s ability to pass legislation. In order for legislation to be passed into law in Canada, the government requires a 50% plus one majority. If there are not enough votes for a given piece of legislation, it fails. In a minority government, a government has much more difficulty passing its legislation. The broader effect of the floor crossings, in particular, is that they have made Canadians rethink what it means to vote for a political party; when a candidate is elected for a given political party and then decides to change parties, questions about whether or not this is democratic are raised. In reality, there is no law preventing members of parliament from crossing the floor. A probable motive for many of those who have done so, including Marilyn Gladu, a well-known outspoken Conservative, is that working as part of a functioning majority government, regardless of the party, can lead to effective government and meaningful changes. Another possible motive for Conservative floor-crossers is that they believe they may be able to push the Prime Minister and the Government to take actions that their former party might have wanted. With such a thin majority, they will likely have some real leverage within the majority Government. Certainly, for the five individuals who now sit with the Liberal Government, their own political prospects will have improved significantly. The next election is 4 years away, and the prospects for the Conservatives are not good. National polls show the Conservatives are not likely to win an election any time soon. The government could return to minority status if just a few members of parliament decide to defect from the party or withhold their votes in protest over a given action or issue.

The broader issue is that when Canadians cast their votes in the last election, they expected their candidates to support a particular party and agenda if elected. The floor-crossers effectively betrayed their voters, their local party organization and workers, and they cut the line to get in front of the local candidate for the Liberal Party, whom they beat in the election. Many Canadians think it would be appropriate for candidates to resign and run in a by-election if they want to change party affiliation.  

Since winning a majority, Prime Minister Mark Carney has already promised more substantive legislation in Canada, including a decrease in the federal tax on gasoline, which went into effect shortly after the by-elections in response to sharp increases in gas prices due to the United States’ war with Iran. Furthermore, having a majority in parliament will make it far harder for other parties to delay bills such as the Liberal Party’s Combatting Hate Act currently working its way through Parliament. 

Although floor-crossings are not unheard-of in Canadian history, the recent events are significant in that there have been so many in such a short period of time. Contributing factors that may have influenced events include the widespread perception that Canada needs an effective government in the face of global uncertainty and a belligerent U.S. President, and the fact that Mark Carney appears to be moving the Liberal Party closer to the center of the political spectrum. In particular, he appears to be entertaining new oil and gas projects, which are playing well in Alberta, and which Justin Trudeau seemed to be staunchly opposed to. Finally, for the floor-crossers, the benefits of supporting his centrist Liberal majority appear to outweigh the risks and downsides of sitting as a member of the opposition (or a minor) party, while a minority government struggles to deal with adversity and challenges at home and abroad.