Alliedassault - Key Defection

Conservative MP steps over

[quote="CTV News":a77f9][b]Stronach crosses the floor, joins Liberal cabinet
CTV.ca News Staff[/b]

In a move that's given a sudden boost to the minority government while sparking calls of betrayal from the Tories, Conservative MP Belinda Stronach crossed the floor Tuesday to join the Liberal party.

Stronach, who was considered one of the rising young stars of the Tory caucus, has joined the Liberal cabinet and was rewarded with the portfolio of minister of human resources.

Her move gives Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority Liberals a better chance of surviving a crucial confidence motion on the federal budget on Thursday, and consequently avoid being forced into a summer election.

"I have been uncomfortable for some time with the direction the leader of the Conservative Party has been taking," said Stronach.

Seated next to Martin at a morning news conference in Ottawa, Stronach said she doesn't see Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper as being "truly sensitive" to the needs and the complexities of Canada.

"Also, by forcing an election before the Conservative party has grown and established itself in Quebec, the hold over Quebec of the Bloc Quebecois can only grow into the vacuum. The result will be to stack the deck in favour of separatism, and the possibility of a Conservative government beholden to the separatists."

'Betrayed'

"A number of our caucus members are feeling quite devastated, quite betrayed by this," said Harper at his own press conference shortly following the Liberals' announcement.

He said the move obviously makes the defeat of the government on Thursday "much less likely."

But Harper added it "doesn't, in any way, change the principled position that our caucus has taken on this issue that the governing party is corrupt."

Martin said he and the 39-year-old Stronach share common beliefs on questions of policy and politics, including the Gomery commission investigating the sponsorship scandal.

"Based on these shared beliefs, she and I have agreed that she fits more comfortably, can serve more appropriately and can contribute more substantially as a member of the government caucus," he said.

Martin said he and Stronach sealed their deal Monday night.

"What Ms. Stronach has done is a courageous gesture," he noted, especially in light of the uncertainty surrounding the party as the budget vote looms.

"One vote will not make a difference in Thursday's vote," said Martin. He pointed out that what is so "gutsy" about Stronach's decision is that she made it "knowing that there's the possibility of the fact that we're going into an election campaign."

Stronach admits the deal was largely brokered by former Ontario premier David Peterson. She ran into Peterson at an event in Toronto last week, and discussed her next move with him before he arranged meetings for her with federal Liberal members and, eventually, Martin.

Two weeks ago, Stronach warned that teaming up with the Bloc Quebecois to defeat the federal budget in the confidence vote might be a bad move that could backfire on the Conservatives.

"I do have concern that lining up with the Bloc is not good for Canada, to defeat this budget and to trigger an election," said Stronach.

She said critical portions of the budget -- particularly the billions promised for municipal infrastructure -- were extremely important to individuals in her riding north of Toronto and other constituencies in the area.

In a question and answer session following the announcement, Stronach refused to answer a reporter's questions regarding the future of her relationship with Conservative House Leader Peter MacKay.

Stronach, the former president and CEO of Magna International, made a bold entry into politics by challenging Harper for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2004.

While she lost that battle, she went on to win the riding of Newmarket-Aurora in Ontario.

The Numbers Game

While Stronach's defection to the Liberals has narrowed the gap, it by no means guarantees the Grits will win Thursday's budget vote.

Prior to Stronach crossing the floor, the Liberals, with the support of the NDP, had 150 votes. That left them three votes shy of the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois, whose combined 153 members planned to vote against the budget.

Now that Stronach has defected, the Liberals and the NDP now have 151 votes and the Tories and the Bloc 152.

Carolyn Parrish, a former Liberal MP who now sits as an Independent, has said she will vote with the Liberals, bringing their numbers up to 152.

That leaves the two remaining independents, David Kilgour and Chuck Cadman. If both vote against the budget, the government will fall.

If one votes with the Liberals and the other against, there would still be a tie.

And that would likely be broken in favour of the Liberals by House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken.

Tory MP Darrell Stinson is still expected to be absent because of illness, but the government has said one of its members will sit out the vote if that is the case.[/quote:a77f9]

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HARPER CALLS IT SELF AMBITION

[quote="CBC News":a77f9][b]Harper puts Stronach defection down to ambition
CTV.ca News Staff[/b]

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper says Belinda Stronach defected to the Liberals because of ambition, and he's relieved it happened now instead of during an election campaign.

Harper, who received a phone call from Stronach not long before the announcement, said members of his caucus are feeling "devastated" and "betrayed" but that he wasn't surprised.

"I told my wife only a few days ago that I thought it had become obvious to Belinda that her leadership ambitions would not be reached in this party, regardless of whether or not we won the last election," he said.

"Frankly, I'm relieved we've at least gone through this before an election, rather than during it," Harper said.

Stronach said she left the party because she doesn't want to defeat the government on the budget with the help of the Bloc Quebecois. She said that would ultimately leave the Conservative government "beholden to the separatists."

A vote will be held in the House of Commons on Thursday on the budget. If defeated, it would trigger an election, because any money bill is considered a vote of confidence in the government.

Stronach also said she didn't think Harper is "truly sensitive" to the needs and the complexities of Canada.

Harper rebuffed Stronach's criticism about the Tory party's failure to recognize the complex makeup of Canada.

"I think there's lots of people who represent lots of different perspectives in out party. And I think we're going to have a great slate of candidates who are all going to be committed to winning the next election."

Harper said he was "certain" that no other MPs would jump the Conservative ship, but added that "we'll have a caucus meeting between now and Thursday and make sure everybody's still on board."

"Obviously Belinda's actions today make the defeat of the government on Thursday much less likely," he said.

"But that doesn't in any way change the principled position that our caucus has taken on this issue."

While Harper said he could see the move coming, many others were taken by surprise by the announcement.

Mixed reaction in Stronach's riding

Residents in Stronach's Ontario riding of Newmarket-Aurora had mixed reaction to the defection.

"I don't believe it," said one woman in the riding. "I just don't believe it.

"I think she's too much of a Conservative."

"I think while she does a good job as it is, so whatever she wants to do, I'm behind her," said one man.

A former Ontario Tory cabinet minister, however, was less supportive in his reaction.

Conservative legislature member Bob Runciman said Stronach turned herself into a political joke by crossing the floor to join the Liberals.

Runciman told CFRB Radio in Toronto: "She sort of defined herself as something of a dipstick, an attractive one, but still a dipstick."

He added he feels Stronach hasn't done a very good job of explaining her defection.

Stronach's future relationship with Peter MacKay

Stronach's announcement that she would be leaving the Conservative party came as sources told The Canadian Press that she and Conservative Deputy Leader Peter MacKay were going to be taking a break from their relationship.

The high-profile MPs confirmed in January that they were a couple.

On Tuesday, CP reported that MacKay was holed in his office, refusing to comment on Stronach's defection to the Liberals.

Sources told CP he only learned of Stronach's decision just before she made it public on Tuesday morning.

While Stronach said Tuesday that she had a "great deal of respect" for MacKay, she would not answer a reporter's question on the future of their relationship.

"First of all, my future relationship with Mr. MacKay, that's a private and personal matter, which I will not comment on."

She also declined to comment on whether MacKay would be following her across the floor for a cabinet seat.

"I have a great deal of respect for Peter MacKay and the integrity that he has and the contribution that he has made to the Conservative party, the growth of the Conservative party ... but you'll have to speak with Peter," she said.

Meanwhile, Harper suggested that MacKay was upset by Stronach's intentions.

"If she has such a high opinion of Peter MacKay, I would venture today after my discussion with him -- she has an awfully tough way of conveying that ... Peter has taken this pretty hard as you can imagine," Harper said Tuesday.

Dollar rises

Even the loonie reacted to Stronach's political manoeuvring Tuesday, moving up from a seven-month low after the announcement of the defection this morning.

The dollar, which had lost 1.8 cents US in three sessions, moved up from a seven-month low while Prime Minister Paul Martin made the announcement in Ottawa.

Analyst George Davis at RBC Capital Markets told The Canadian Press that with a crucial budget vote coming Thursday, "that's one less vote that the Liberals have to worry about now."

The dollar has been under pressure since Martin added $4.6 billion in new social spending in late April to gain NDP support for the budget.

With reports from CTV Toronto and The Canadian Press[/quote:a77f9]

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