In a post-Trump political scenario, Mark Carney will need to build his bona fides on the left. Liberal Marilyn Gladu will make that harder.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on April 20, 2026.

OTTAWA—Marilyn Gladu’s gift to the Liberal Party may turn out to be a Trojan horse.

It moved the dial one seat closer to a majority for the government, but the crossover was not essential to the equation.

Four previous floor-crossers over the past several months did not evoke the privately negative response of some Liberals in the way that Gladu’s did earlier this month.

Previous floor-crossers were on the moderate side of their parties, so the only controversy was floor-crossing itself.

When floor-crossers are moving in the wrong direction, the political party experiencing divorce is vocal in its demand to outlaw the practice.

But when the parliamentarians are choosing to join a party, most are welcomed with open arms.

Such was not the case with Gladu.

Liberal circles were abuzz with questions about whether the Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong MP’s arrival was a good thing or a bad thing for the party.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is riding a political high. Some of his support is coming from former Conservatives who like his economic prowess and international experience.

By watering down the Liberals’ perceived environmental agenda, Carney has less fulsome praise from those on the party’s left.

And with Gladu now on Team Liberal, the New Democrats were quick to trot her out as the reason why the government cannot be trusted on issues of social justice and equality.

NDP Leader Avi Lewis attacked the coherence of the Liberals for accepting her. “She ran for the leadership of the Conservative party six years ago on an anti-abortion platform, opposing conversion therapy, a stance many viewed as blatantly homophobic,” he told a media scrum.

Pro-conversion therapy and opposition to abortion were two major planks in her platform when she ran in the Conservative leadership against Pierre Poilievre.

But while some Liberals may have been quietly raising their eyebrows, the prime minister was quick to point out that Gladu promised to support the government on major social questions.

His team was successfully spinning the notion that this floor-crossing was an example of “big-tent politics” hearkening back to the days of then-prime minister Jean Chrétien when there was a significant Liberal caucus rump opposed to abortion and gay marriage.

But that was then, and this is now.

The abortion question was settled in a court judgment almost 40 years ago. And the degree of unanimity on gay rights today is literally a complete sea change from that time.

Gladu would have been happily welcomed into the Liberal government in 1993 because she would join at least a dozen members who shared her viewpoint.

Such is not the case today, so she is going to be a very lonely soldier.

Carney focused on Gladu’s business experience as an engineer when he introduced her as the newest Liberal caucus member.

If she is put to work on projects that can use her economic skills, that may be enough to keep her happy.

But if she is not happy, that can come with its own challenges.

Now that the Liberals have secured a majority government, it will be much more difficult to exercise caucus discipline and keep everyone singing from the same hymnbook.

The prime minister’s popularity was underscored with the size of his byelection victory in Terrebonne, Que., on April 13. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet visited the BQ stronghold nine times during the campaign, but was not able to defeat the triple crown Grit juggernaut that ushered three new women into Parliament last week.

That popularity will continue at least until the American midterms when the presidential threat may be neutered.

Without Donald Trump as a foil, Carney will have to deliver on the economic U-turn that he is attempting to orchestrate away from dependence on America.

If Carney’s popularity wanes, he will need a strong left wing to carry him over into the next election.

At the moment, he doesn’t need anybody. His own vision and unique, apolitical charm are doing it for him.

But when the tide turns, he will need to strengthen both wings of the party.

Proportional representation was a popular item with some on the left. That was killed at the convention.

Former cabinet minister and fellow leadership candidate Karina Gould was excluded from Carney’s first cabinet. That should change. At the convention, Gould once again proved what an able communicator she is.

If Liberals want a winning team, Gladu should not be front and centre.

In a post-Trump political scenario, Carney will need to build his bona fides on the left.

Liberal Gladu will make that harder.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Canadians generally like to govern from the centre. Most electoral victories have been precipitated by the winning leader showing balance and moderation. Lewis’ victory was not based on moderation, but on exploding the status quo.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on April 6, 2026.

OTTAWA—One thing is certain. The new leader of the federal New Democratic Party has the overwhelming support of his party.

Avi Lewis swept to victory on the first ballot last weekend, and, coincidentally, was also the second choice of most voters who backed other candidates.

With more than 71,000 ballots cast, Lewis secured an easy victory announced at the convention in Winnipeg on March 29. That was the easy part.

Translating that into electoral victory is another story.

Provincial New Democratic leaders kept their distance from Lewis.

British Columbia Premier David Eby did not attend the convention. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew gave a speech to the convention on the winnability factor.

That was seen as a slap at Lewis because he has already lost two elections while his closest leadership rival, MP Heather McPherson, is one of only a handful non-Conservative Albertans sitting in the House of Commons. There are three Liberals in Alberta, while the Conservatives hold 33 of the 37 seats.

Kinew did join other supporters on stage with Lewis after his victory was announced, and embraced the new leader.

Following the convention, Kinew said: “I just love Avi … and we don’t have to agree on everything to get big things done.”

Other NDP icons were not as effervescent.

Former Alberta premier Rachel Notley introduced McPherson to the convention with a passionate call for “realistic plans.” She focused on McPherson’s capacity to build bridges, in contrast with others.

Notley did not name Lewis, but the inference was there.

In the moments after Lewis’ victory, current Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi issued a statement making it very clear that his provincial party does not include Lewis.

“It is clear that the direction of the federal party, under this leader, someone who openly cheered for the defeat of the Alberta NDP government, is not in the interest of Alberta,” Nenshi said.

Before Lewis won the leadership, former national NDP leader Tom Mulcair was equally critical, suggesting a Lewis landslide would create a “huge problem,” particularly his plan to shut down fossil fuel development.

Mulcair also criticized Lewis for his decision not to run in a byelection and get into the House as soon as possible.

Mulcair told CTV News that he has spoken to dozens of NDP supporters who are worried that Lewis’ radical positions on issues would likely cost them even more seats.

With only six members in the House, the NDP currently do not have party status and would lose their only Quebec member if Alexandre Boulerice quits the party to run in the provincial election for Quebec Solidaire, as he’s hinted.

The “winnability” factor did not appear to influence the voters at the convention.

Rob Ashton, the labour-endorsed candidate at the convention, ran a poor fourth, behind Indigenous social worker Tanille Johnston.

That was a shock because most observers thought labour would deliver more than the 5.91 per cent of the votes Ashton secured on the first ballot.

That number should be concerning for the party because past support in ridings across the country has depended on the involvement of labour workers and funding.

If only five per cent are active at the NDP’s national organizational level, it does not augur well for labour influence in a general election.

Canadians generally like to govern from the centre. Most electoral victories have been precipitated by the winning leader showing balance and moderation.

Lewis’ victory was not based on moderation, but on exploding the status quo. His call for an end to all fossil fuel extraction, coupled with the establishment of government-run groceries stores, is not going to sit well with the majority.

He will definitely bleed support from the Green Party, which is already on life support. But McPherson would have cut into Liberal support by attracting voters who see Carney as a more conservative-Liberal.

With Lewis, there is little chance that left-wing Liberals will move to his party. And that is bad news for the Conservatives.

The way Tories win in Ontario is by Liberals bleeding votes to the left. The split secures victory for the right. Probably the most disappointed leader following the Lewis victory was federal Conservative Pierre Poilievre.

On a sombre but serendipitous note, Lewis’ father, former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis, lived to see his son’s victory. The 88-year-old elder Lewis passed away less than 48 hours after the win was announced.

Avi Lewis is a third-generation NDP leader, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, federal leader David Lewis.

Lewis told the convention his grandfather predicted an NDP prime minister in the next generation, and his father the same. Lewis vowed that, with his victory, his own son will not have to wait.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.