An Ontario Conservative MP says she will not be crossing the floor anytime soon, despite an attempt from the Liberal Party to poach her.
Kitchener Centre MP Kelly DeRidder says she got a phone call from the Liberal Party, trying to convince her that switching sides would give her a better chance at winning the next election.
She disagrees.
“There needs to be transparency and accountability in government and that’s just the bottom line and it’s being slowly eroded away and the trust in our institutions is going to be gone,” DeRidder told CBC News in an interview after posting about the experience in a video on Facebook.
The Liberals currently hold a majority of seats in the House of Commons, after multiple Conservative MPs crossed the floor over the last several months.
During a press conference earlier this month, shortly after Marilyn Gladu became the latest MP to defect from the Conservatives, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the recent floor-crossers had brought “a series of perspectives and expertise that is aiding … the government and the country at a crucial time.”
DeRidder says they tried to poach her too, but she said no.
“They said we’ve noticed what you’re doing in committee and you’re doing really great work. And especially your interest in AI, in digital policy, we think there would be a really good spot for you on our team here,” DeRidder told CBC News.
“I said, well, thank you for the flattery and pumping my tires a little, but my answer is still no.”
DeRidder claims the Liberals also said their next candidate would have support from the Green Party.
“I was told a candidate would be running [for] Kitchener Centre with support from both the Liberals and the Greens, and I wouldn’t stand a chance as a Conservative.”
CBC News has reached out to the Liberal Party for comment.
The Green Party’s Mike Morrice was the incumbent in the April 2025 federal election, but lost the seat to DeRidder.
DeRidder won with 20,217 votes, which was 358 more than Morrice, who had 19,859. Liberal candidate Brian Adeba came in third with 17,298 votes. It was one of three local seats the Conservatives flipped in that election. The other two were Cambridge and Kitchener South-Hespeler.
Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada, denied her party would team up with the Liberals to poach a Conservative MP.
“There’s not even a filament of truth to it. Nothing,” she told CBC News, adding that there’s no point investigating further.
“I’m not looking into it. It’s just garbage … Mike Morrice, I hope, will be re-elected in the next election as the MP for Kitchener Centre and that’s where the Green Party stands. Any other suggestion is nonsense.”
Morrice told CBC News he’s focused on the next election.
“If I learned anything from last time, it’s that we just need to work that much harder and engage with more folks,” he said.
“I’ve been the nominated candidate with the Greens in Kitchener Centre as of earlier in the fall, have been canvassing regularly since that point and haven’t had any contact from the Liberals or the Conservatives.”
DeRidder explained why it felt important for her to be transparent about the call and her refusal.
“Personally, I was starting to get frustrated with the blame being placed on the Conservative Party and our leader. What is happening here is active recruitment to the other side and someone needed to tell that story,” she said. “That someone, I guess, has got to be me.”
Andrea Perrella is an associate professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. He says it’s not unusual for parties to try and recruit members from across the floor.
“It does occur, but it is unusual for the recipient of such invitations to go out in public and to basically blow the whistle on it. It can tarnish or strain the relationship,” he said.
“There is a certain degree of goodwill that you want to maintain with members from different parties. Despite what the perception that we get from the media, they don’t hate each other. They work together.”
Perrella says there may be benefits to speaking out as well.
“If there’s any risk to her viability as a candidate, then this basically tells her voters, ‘You stand with me and I will stand with you’ … this shores up her reputation as a loyal Conservative,” he said.
He says that reputation may help her during the next election, especially within the Kitchener Centre riding, which has increasingly divided voters.
“[Kitchener Centre] can flip from one party to the next to the next. We have seen a variety of parties representing that riding and at the provincial level as well. It is a riding that is not secure for any party,” Perrella said.
“If she has a base, a Conservative base, in Kitchener Centre, then this pronouncement may help her keep those votes.”
