Heather Wright/The Independent

 Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong MP Marilyn Gladu is backing a call to hold automatic by-elections when a Member of Parliament defects to another party.

Middlesex-London MP Lianne Rood is sponsoring a petition calling for the move.

The petition says “unrestricted floor-crossing can erode voter trust amid rising political corruption and scandals” and that voters “deserve immediate accountability when an MP switches to another party mid-term, potentially altering Parliament’s balance without endorsement.”

Leading up to Christmas, two Conservative MPs Michael Ma and Chris d’Entremont, moved from the Conservative to the Liberal benches. Prime Minister Mark Carney now needs one more MP to turn his minority government into a majority. While the recent defections could ensure Liberal rule until 2029, MPs “crossing the floor” of the House of Commons is not unusual. In 1990, Lucien Bouchard quit Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives and later formed the Bloc Québécois.

The petition only calls for an election if the MP joins another party but not if they become an independent MP. 

“Allowing MPs to sit as independents preserves conscience without triggering elections.”

Gladu tells The Independent she agrees a by-election should be called if someone leaves their party to go to another.

“Really, the whole point of being an MP is to represent your constituents. So if they’re voting you in under one platform –for you to switch for whatever reasons, just seems to me to not be representing what you’re supposed to be there to represent.

“We elected you under this banner, and if you don’t want to be under that banner, then we deserve a chance to have a redo.”

Gladu says she could also see holding a by-election in the case of MPs becoming independents.

So far, Rood’s petition has garnered over 37,000 signature. 

And while Gladu supports the idea, she says no clear action will come from the petition alone. She says they raise awareness and can help MPs form private members bills in the future.