A Conservative member of Parliament in British Columbia says the Liberals have courted him to cross the floor, but it will be a “cold day in Hell” before he betrays his party and the people who voted him into office.
In
a chilly rebuke shared on Facebook
, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee MP Scott Anderson says the Liberals are “pulling out all the stops” to attract more Conservatives to their ranks.
Two have already done so — Chris d’Entremont (Acadie—Annapolis, N.S) in November and Michael Ma (Markham—Unionville, Ont.) in December — leaving Prime Minister Mark Carney within one seat of the 172 needed for a majority in the House of Commons. Their departures drew sharp criticism from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and other members of his caucus.
While Ma never explicitly criticized Poilievre in his departure, d’Entremont did,
he didn’t feel “aligned” with the leader’s “ideals” and wanted to move away from a “negative” style of politics. He also hinted there were other members of Poilievre’s caucus “in the same boat” who might also jump ship.
Anderson, however, said dissent within the Tory ranks is a myth perpetuated by the Liberals because “they are afraid of Pierre Poilievre.”
“They’d prefer a milquetoast Conservative leader and not a fighter who stands up to their lies and omissions,” he wrote.
In his statement, Anderson went on to criticize the governing Liberals, calling out a tendency to deliver headline-making announcements about “great nation building projects” and then failing to deliver results.
“Simply put, you’ve done nothing but make empty promises, increase taxation, and throw billions away trying to entrench your power,” he wrote.
He also took the Liberals to task on their alleged behaviour in the House of Commons, where he accused them of not taking matters important to Canadians seriously.
“I watch you boast about your handouts, your rental housing that never seems to materialize, your leader who shows up a few minutes a month for part of (Question Period) before jetting off in search of more pointless headlines,” Anderson stated.
“And you have the gall to say that our pleading for the little guy is ‘carping.’ I’m frankly disgusted.”
(Carping means to continually complain or find fault in trivial matters.)
Anderson ended his missive by reaffirming that he has no intention of ever breaking ranks with the Conservatives, regardless of what is promised in return. To do so, he said, “would be a betrayal of my constituents, a betrayal of the office to which I have been elected, and a betrayal of my own personal core beliefs.”
“It’ll be a cold day in Hell before I even consider betraying my constituents, and you should probably stop asking because I will certainly advertise it every time you try.”
Anderson, newly elected in April 2025, is a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces and a former city councillor in Vernon, B.C. From 2019 to 2019, he served as interim leader of the province’s Conservative Party.
National Post has contacted Anderson, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Liberal Party of Canada for comment.
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