Jordan Rein

This is very disappointing. Matt has been elected as a Conservative six times, twice provincially and four times federally, most recently less than a year ago. A Liberal has never been elected in his riding. So this runs against the clear direction of his constituents. It also contradicts his announcement ten weeks ago that he was resigning to “spend more time with his family.” I have always regarded Matt as a good guy. But I hope he understands that these peculiar decisions will only increase public cynicism about politics. I also suspect he is going to have a hard time looking his constituents in the eye; and many of his new Liberal colleagues will wonder if he can really be trusted. A cautionary note to the Carney government: partisan types love tactical cleverness, but regular people often read it as cynicism. NB: the Martin government’s inducements to floor crossers did not turn out well for them in the end. I understand that MPs can change their views over time, and there can be legitimate reasons for deciding to change their parties. But IMHO, they owe it to their constituents to seek a mandate through a by-election if they decide to switch parties. As Premier, I had the Alberta Legislature vote on the following motion to put MLAs on the record about this, should they later decide to change parties: “Be it resolved that the Legislative Assembly express its opposition to the practice of Members changing their caucus affiliation unless that Member is to sit as an independent or has resigned and been returned to the Assembly after being re-elected in a by-election under the new affiliation.” I would encourage the House of Commons to consider a similar motion.