Canada’s Conservative party loses second lawmaker in 3 days

OTTAWA – Canada’s Conservative Party lost its second Member of Parliament in a week, putting pressure on Mr Pierre Poilievre, the main political rival of Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Alberta lawmaker Matt Jeneroux surprised Ottawa on the evening of Nov 6 by resigning from the House of Commons.

The move comes as Mr Carney’s government is on the verge of a key vote on its Budget, which was released on Nov 4.

The Budget must pass in the House or the government will fall.

Mr Jeneroux did not explain his reasons in his statement, which he shared on social media, and did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

However, his resignation comes just two days after

the defection of Mr Chris d’Entremont

, who was elected as a Conservative in Nova Scotia, to Mr Carney’s Liberal Party.

That gave the Liberals 170 seats, just two shy of a majority in Parliament.

Unlike Mr d’Entremont, Mr Jeneroux is not switching sides to the Liberals, according to reports.

His resignation will trigger a by-election.

He won his seat in a closely fought April election with 5.4 per cent more of the vote than his Liberal opponent.

Mr Poilievre was a favourite to win Canada’s election for many months until the nation’s politics went through a seismic shift due to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to make

the country the 51st US state

.

The trade crisis contributed to the resignation of the finance minister, which then triggered

Mr Justin Trudeau’s departure as prime minister

, to be replaced by Mr Carney.

Mr Poilievre faces a leadership review by party members in January.

Mr d’Entremont cited his “negative” style as a reason for leaving the party and has claimed that other Conservatives may join him in crossing over to the Liberals – sparking rumours that Mr Jeneroux would do so.

In a post on X, Mr Poilievre thanked Mr Jeneroux and wished his family well, saying he will step down “next spring”, meaning in the next six or seven months. BLOOMBERG