After weeks of talks, Toronto-area MP Leona Alleslev ditches the Liberals and joins the Tories

Thestar.com
September 18, 2018
Alex Boutilier

Toronto-area MP Leona Alleslev’s floor-crossing from the Liberals to the Conservatives had been in the works for almost a month, two Conservative sources have told the Star.

Alleslev made the surprise announcement that she would leave the Liberal party to sit as a Conservative on Monday, giving Andrew Scheer’s party a public relations win as Parliament began its fall sitting.

Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer appears with MP Leona Alleslev, who crossed the floor from the Liberals to the Conservatives on Monday. The Toronto-area MP will serve as the Tory critic for global security.

But the talks between Alleslev and Scheer’s team began three or four weeks earlier, just a few weeks after she hosted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in her Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill riding.

Above a photo of her and Trudeau on July 20, Alleslev tweeted that she was “proud to be part of this (Liberal) team as we head into 2019.”

On Monday, she said she would no longer support Trudeau and his government.

“The citizens of my riding and all Canadians need a government that delivers foundational change for the things that matter,” Alleslev told reporters outside the House of Commons.

“The world has changed dramatically in the last three years and we find ourselves in a time of unprecedented instability … Canada faces a perfect storm of serious challenges at home and abroad. This is not a strong economy, and our country needs strong leadership.”

Alleslev suggested criticizing the Liberals while serving as a Liberal MP would “undermine” the government, so she decided to oppose it openly instead. She did not answer a direct question about whether or not she raised any concerns within the Liberal caucus and leadership before crossing the floor.

Alleslev did not attend the Liberal caucus retreat last week. However, her riding association was still in touch with the Liberal team in Ottawa in recent weeks, a Liberal source said.

The MP’s departure took the party by surprise, said the source, who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity.

Speaking briefly with reporters before question period, Trudeau said floor crossing “is something we allow for in our system, obviously” and that he wished Alleslev “well in her decision.”

Alleslev was first elected in 2015 in the newly created, largely suburban riding of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill. She unseated Costas Menegakis, who had expected to run in the riding for the Conservatives in 2019.

In a statement on Twitter, Menegakis said he was withdrawing his nomination to run in nearby Richmond Hill instead.

Alleslev bested Menegakis by just over 1,000 votes in 2015. In the Ontario election held in June this year, the Progressive Conservatives handily won the riding, with PC candidate Michael Parsa garnering more than 50 per cent of the ballots cast.

But Alleslev maintained it was principle, not the way the political winds were blowing, that guided her decision.

“It’s truly not about that. It’s about being able to look my constituents and look myself in the mirror and know that I did everything while I was an elected member of Parliament to serve my constituents and this country,” Alleslev said.

“We’re facing some very serious challenges and this is how I can do the job that my constituents sent me here to do.”

A retired Air Force captain, Alleslev will serve as Scheer’s critic for “global security.” In prepared remarks to reporters, Alleslev talked about growing instability in both trade relationships and military alliances.

Alleslev should be quite familiar with the file --and the Liberals’ current thinking about it --after serving on the House of Commons national defence and immigration committees, as well as taking a lead role on the Canada NATO parliamentary committee.

Scheer, in introducing the newest member of the Conservative caucus, made an appeal for other disaffected Liberals to join his cause.

“If, like Leona, you supported Justin Trudeau and the Liberals in the last election, and you’re frustrated or even angry with the ineffective leadership, know this: you are both welcome and needed in the Conservative Party of Canada,” Scheer said.