Another Conservative defection effectively gives Mark Carney Liberals a majority

investinglive.com · Feb 18, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

Full Article

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux has opted to join the Liberals.In last year's Federal election, the Liberals won 169 seats, which is just shy of the 172 needed for a majority. In the time since, we've seen Conservatives Chris d’Entremont and Michael Ma switch parties to join the Liberals and now Jeneroux has done the same.This move is particularly shocking because back in November 2025, Jeneroux explicitly denied he was crossing the floor, stating he intended to resign from politics entirely to focus on his family. His decision to instead join Carney’s "new government" as a special advisor on economic and security partnerships is a major pivot that gives the Liberals nearly total control over the legislative agenda.However there is a hiccup as there are three upcoming by-elections (in the ridings of University—Rosedale, Scarborough Southwest, and Terrebonne), including one to replace Crystia Freeland. That seat is a Liberal stronghold and will put them over the threshold. The votes in Scarborough and Terrebonne could also go to the Liberals but it's less certain. The Terrebonne vote is particularly interesting as it still hasn't been settled following the election as Liberals won it by a single vote and the Supreme Court recently annulled it.There is no set date for the by-elections yet but could take place from March-August and will be announced soon.It's not clear why the Conservatives switched but there is something of a rift within the party developing after some Conservative MPs have been flirting with Alberta separatists and/or the White House. That's a bad look for the party that it seems loathe to tackle internally.As for Carney, he was relatively safe anyway as he was riding high in the polls but last year's election showed that anything is possible in Canadian politics as the Liberals made a comeback for the ages after dumping Trudeau. That dynamic explains why the loonie is not reacting to the news.