We witnessed this week another Member of Parliament (MP) “crossing the floor” from an opposing party to the Liberal Party of Canada. That makes five MPs who have done so – four from the Conservative Party and one from the New Democratic Party. The latest defection was an experienced MP who served her constituency in Sudbury as a Conservative for 10 years, opposing the Liberal agenda of abortion, and speaking out against the Liberal laws that ban Conversion Therapy, particular the part that criminalizes anyone (even a parent) who counsels a person that one can choose not to be identified as a homosexual. On April 9, 2026, she has stated that she will vote with her newly adopted Liberal Party to support abortion and the ban on Conversion Therapy. It’s a 180⁰ turn in the politics of morality.
Naturally, there is a buzz on Parliament Hill over the unusual nature of such defections. In October 2025, a book was published by the University of Toronto press featuring the work of three political scientists that examined the political scene in Canada. It’s called There’s No ‘I’ in ‘Team’. The central thesis of the book is that party loyalty in Canada is impregnable. People don’t defect.
In November 2025, one month after the book was published, the first of the 5 defections took place. So why does it happen? The fact that defections came from both the Conservatives and the NDP has cast doubt on the “dissatisfaction with the leader of the party” explanation, and pointed to the “backroom deals” each MP has received. In this light, the lead author of the book was interviewed on the news. He said, “It’s more obvious than we thought. People think about themselves, their career, and their pocketbooks, more than what they say they believe, more than betraying the people who voted for them, and certainly more than the party they joined up to serve.” Then he said, “The title of the book still stands – there is no letter ‘I’ in the word ‘Team’. Anyone who crosses the floor to seek their own gains will not do the new team too much good.”
In the days of Jesus, rabbinic schools were run in the same way today’s political parties are. People followed in the footsteps of the rabbi who gave them the most prestige and influence. Sometimes, money from rich sponsors followed a rabbi where he went and their rabbinic following was large indeed. Hence, rabbis always suffered from floor-crossing followers seeking personal gain.
In this context, Jesus turned often to those who declared a desire to follow Him with challenges to their heart: “Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head;” “Let the dead bury the dead;” “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of heaven” (Luke 9:57-62). In fact, when many of those following Him decided to cross the floor, Jesus asked Peter directly, “Will you go away as well?” (John 6:66-67). Reading today’s news about floor-crossing MPs should not surprise us. The human heart is easily attracted by better offers. What we learn from them is far more important. Bookending the letter to 1 Corinthians that details the vagrancy of man and the steadfast power of God, Paul concludes with these words, “My beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Stay steadfast to God’s call. Be immovable in your stand. Keep abounding in what God gives you to do. Now, that’s what floor crossers need to hear.
