The Canadian Future Party may come to regret its choice of name.
The party was launched in mid 2024, when many Canadians were fed up with then prime minister Justin Trudeau but also uneasy about the Conservatives under Pierre Poilievere.
The Future Party’s founding leader Dominic Cardy told Canadian Affairs at the time that his goal was to offer centrist Canadians a middle ground.
“There’s a growing concern amongst Canadians — including the supporters of the existing parties — that those parties are sliding too far to the extremes,” he said.
How times change. Now, our centrist prime minister has centrist voters eating out of his hand, and the Future Party’s raison d’etre, if not future, looks tenuous.
But the party may yet make a valuable contribution if its recent proposal gains momentum.
This week, the Future Party called on the federal government to create legislation requiring a member of Parliament who leaves their party to run in a byelection or sit as an independent.
This proposal offers a simple fix to the floor-crossing problem that Canadians have witnessed in past months.
And make no mistake that it’s a problem.
The Liberals tipped into majority territory this week thanks to the five MPs who crossed the floor this parliamentary session.
The MPs’ actions have set a terrible precedent. Rumour has it, others are considering following suit. Just like use of the notwithstanding clause, the more floor crossings occur without consequence, the more they will become the norm. Canadians’ disillusionment with the electoral process — and the importance of casting a vote — will grow.
The floor crossings also demonstrate a flagrant disregard for the wishes of the MPs’ constituents. The five floor crossers claim otherwise, of course. They say they crossed the floor with the blessing of their constituents.
But if they’re so sure of that, let them prove it.
For some, that would almost certainly change their calculation about whether to switch allegiances.
Take MP Mariliyn Gladu, the most recent — and perhaps most galling — floor crosser.
In the 2025 election, under the Conservative flag, the socially conservative Gladu captured 53 per cent of the vote, versus 38 per cent for the Liberals. (Conservatives have won every election in her southeastern Ontario riding since 2006.)
Gladu’s 2025 margin translates into more than 11,500 additional votes for the Tories.
Given that neither the Conservatives’ nor Liberals’ leaders or policies have materially changed since the 2025 election, it seems unlikely that that many constituents would vote differently in a byelection today.
It’s possible we’re wrong on this point. Polling numbers have moved in favour of the Liberals since the last election. But that is what makes a byelection so important. It legitimizes a MP’s place in Parliament, ensuring it reflects the will of their electorate.
Helpfully, there is a precedent in Canada for the legislation Cardy is proposing.
As a former MLA in New Brunswick, Cardy helped enact the 2014 Act Respecting Floor Crossing. Similar to what is being proposed now, this act required MLAs who left the party to either sit as an independent or resign and force a byelection.
It was the first of its kind in Canada, and unfortunately short lived. The New Brunswick Liberals repealed it just a year later, as part of broader reforms aimed at boosting government flexibility.
What we like about Cardy’s proposal is that it holds MPs accountable to their constituents, but also holds party leaders accountable to their MPs.
Preserving MPs’ ability to cross the floor is an essential form of empowerment in a system that already concentrates substantial power with the leader.
Cardy made this point himself this week. “Members of Parliament absolutely need the right to leave their parties. It’s the ultimate way to show you have no confidence in that party or its leader,” he said in a press release.
Finally, it is worth noting that Cardy’s proposed legislation would respect Canadians’ wishes.
In a March poll, nearly three-quarters of Canadians said they think floor crossers should not be allowed to serve out their term under the new party.
Respondents said floor crossers should either have to step down and re-contest their seat in a byelection (41%); serve as an independent (22%); or vacate their seat (11%).
Given how much these Liberals have benefited from recent floor crossings, it is unfortunately improbable that this government will push Cardy’s proposal forward.
We hope the opposition parties — which have every incentive to stop the bleeding — do so instead.
Of course, they face their own obstacle: They are now a minority.
