Newly minted Liberal MP Marilyn Gladu says she won’t run in a byelection after crossing the floor from the Conservatives, adding that she wants the Elections Act changed to make it a requirement before that happens.

“That law has not been changed. Once it does, I'd be happy to do that,” Gladu told reporters on the sidelines of the Liberal Party convention in Montreal on April 9.

Gladu is the fifth MP to cross the floor to join the governing Liberals since November, and the fourth Conservative to do so. In past cases, Gladu had said that MPs who leave their parties to join another should stand in a byelection. She also publicly supported a House of Commons petition calling for the Elections Act to be amended to make this a requirement.

“Really, the whole point of being an MP is to represent your constituents. So if they’re voting you in under one platform—for you to switch for whatever reasons, just seems to me to not be representing what you’re supposed to be there to represent,” Gladu told the Independent in January.

Gladu also addressed the Liberal convention on April 9 after being introduced to the stage by Minister of AI and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon to a standing ovation by party members. Gladu repeated her previously stated reasons for joining the Liberals, saying that her constituents want the government to focus on issues such as nation-building projects and trade diversification, which she said Prime Minister Mark Carney is delivering on.

“This is a moment for us to unite as Canadians, to do the work to build the nation in response to unjustified U.S. tariffs. That takes serious leadership and a credible plan, and I know that Prime Minister Mark Carney brings both,” Gladu said.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said earlier on April 9 that he feels “badly” for Gladu’s constituents.

“Mark Carney is saying to Canadians your vote does not count, that he will overpower the decision that you made—through dirty backroom deals—that give him unrestrained power to raise your taxes and increase your costs,” Poilievre said at a press conference in Richmond, B.C.

With Gladu joining the Liberals, the governing party now has 171 seats, which is one short of a majority. With next week’s three byelections, the Liberals are expected to secure a majority, given that two of the byelections are in historically Liberal strongholds in Toronto.

Carney said Gladu, who has spent “decades of her career in engineering and international business” and has been elected to Parliament four times since 2015, brings “practical, results-driven leadership” to the governing caucus.

Social Issues

Earlier on April 9, Carney said at a press conference that Gladu, who is pro-life, will vote with the government on social issues such as abortion.

Shortly after becoming Liberal leader in 2013, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said any new candidate for the party needs to support abortion.

Gladu, who briefly ran as a candidate in the Conservative leadership race in 2020, had said at the time that she would allow caucus to bring forth different issues, including allowing them to put forth private member’s bills to restrict abortion. She had also opposed the first iteration of the Trudeau government’s bill to ban conversion therapy, taking issue with parts that she said restricted speech. She also said she would support abortion access.

Gladu told reporters on April 9 that she agrees with Carney’s remarks earlier in the day “100 percent.”

“I obviously have my long faith traditions, but I’m ready to support the rights of women in this country,” Gladu said.

“I will vote with the government. I will protect the rights and freedoms of women to choose, for people to be who they are and love who they love.”