Edmontonians who live in MP Matt Jeneroux’s riding are expressing a range of reaction to the news he is leaving the Conservatives to join the Liberal caucus.
Jeneroux, a former Progressive Conservative MLA in Alberta, has been the member of Parliament for Edmonton Riverbend since 2015. He won the riding for the fourth time in last year’s federal election.
Jeneroux joined Prime Minister Mark Carney in Edmonton on Thursday to announce he would now sit as a Liberal in the House of Commons.
His decision to cross the floor less than a year after winning as a Conservative was met with disappointment by constituent Carol Salisney.
“I’ve worked for him the last three or four elections and he was very much a conservative,” she told CBC News. “I’m very disappointed. And I’m surprised.”
Salisney said she thinks it’s wrong for an elected official to change parties in the middle of a mandate.
But Doug Knight, another constituent, said he thinks Jeneroux is doing the right thing given the economic threats made by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“I appreciate the turmoil that he must have gone through with all of this,” Knight said.
“But I think on … behalf of Canada, I think it was a good decision to make. It’ll keep a little more stability I think in the country for a little while.”
Jeneroux is the third Conservative MP to join the Liberals since the last election. Last fall, he announced he planned to step down as an MP.
Jeneroux said Carney’s well-received speech in Davos last month, where he spoke about the end of the old order, is what made him reconsider his departure from the House of Commons.
“I think it opened a lot of eyes for Canadians, Albertans, Edmontonians, just how serious this national unity crisis truly is,” he said.
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In addition to remaining an MP, Jeneroux will also take on an additional role as special adviser on economic and security partnerships.
Rebuke of Poilievre’s leadership?
Jeneroux’s defection again raises questions about the support Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has from within his caucus.
Lori Williams, an associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University, noted that while Poilievre won 87 per cent support at a party convention last month, the room was filled with party members who pledged to vote in favour of his leadership.
She pointed to Conservative MP Jamil Jivani’s recent trip to Washington to meet with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance and other lawmakers as evidence of Poilievre’s lack of control over his caucus.
Williams said she sees Jeneroux’s explanation of how Carney’s Davos speech got him to consider crossing the floor as a rebuke of Poilievre’s leadership.
“The problem for Pierre Poilievre is how can he convince people who are looking at things like the Davos speech, that are looking at some of the challenges that Canada is facing abroad,” she said.
“What can he do to address those issues and what can he do to address the divisions within his own party?
“If you’re talking about domestic matters, housing affordability [and] crime, those are areas where Pierre Poilievre tends to do better.
“But if you’re looking at what’s facing Canada currently, the big challenges are coming from outside. … Canadians appear to be looking to Mark Carney as that international leader, that steady hand in rough waters.”
Williams said she isn’t surprised Jeneroux is supporting Carney’s vision as polls suggest the prime minister also has many Canadians onboard as well.
While Jeneroux has won Edmonton Riverbend by large margins, Liberal candidate Mark Minenko was able to come within 3,300 votes of winning the seat in the April 2025 election.
