Only one year after Belinda Stronach ran for the Leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada and lost to Stephen Harper. Stronach is crossing the floor to the Liberal Party.
If people were looking for an indication of just how weak the Conservative Party of Canada is under Stephen Harpers idealism and partisanship… we need only look at this event. Belinda Stronach represents exactly the “small-L” Conservatives that Stephen Harper is so desperately trying to attract to his party.
Instead, he has frightened away one of his best examples.
Belinda Stronach is probably the only MP in the Conservative caucus that I would have considered a viable option for Prime Minister.
Here’s what she had to say about leaving the Conservative party;
“I find myself at a crossroads forced on me by the decision of the leader of the Conservative party to try to force the defeat of this government this Thursday.
“I tried to the very best of my ability to play a constructive role in the Conservative party to advance issues that really matter to Canadians in cities, to women, to young people, to many Ontarians.
“But I regret to say that I do not believe the party leader is truly sensitive to the needs of each part of the country and just how big and complex Canada really is.”
With Stronachs defection, the Liberals/NDP now have 151 votes… the Conservative/Bloc have 152. Independant MP Carolyn Parrish has said she will support the government… so if only one of the other Independants, Chuck Cadman and David Kilgour, vote for the Government (I expect both will now) then the Budget will pass and no election will be forced.
Harper eats Cheerios for breakfast…Kisses the PMO goodbye!