By The Canadian Press

MP Matt Jeneroux leaves Conservatives to join Liberal caucus

Feb 18, 2026 | 7:29 AM

OTTAWA — Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux has crossed the floor from the Conservative party to join the Liberal caucus — and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is accusing him of betraying voters in his Edmonton riding.

Jeneroux’s decision to cross the floor will avert an Edmonton byelection and nudge the Liberal seat count up by one in the current minority Parliament, though Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government remains a handful of seats short of a majority.

Carney welcomed Jeneroux in a social media post Wednesday morning. He said he’s honoured to see the Edmonton Riverbend MP become the newest member of the government caucus and announced that Jeneroux would take on the role of special adviser on economic and security partnerships.

“Building a stronger, more resilient and more independent country will require ambition, collaboration, and occasionally, sacrifice. I am grateful to Matt and his family that he will continue his service as a strong voice for Edmonton Riverbend in Parliament,” Carney said.

In a social media post Wednesday, Poilievre accused Carney of “trying to seize a costly Liberal majority government that Canadians voted against in the last election through dirty backroom deals.” He said Jeneroux “betrayed the people of Edmonton Riverbend” who voted Conservative.

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Just a few months ago — as rumours spread that he was being courted by the government and was considering crossing the floor — Jeneroux announced that he planned to resign his seat.

He announced his resignation in early November, just days after Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont left the Conservative caucus to join the Liberals.

Poilievre said at the time that Jeneroux planned to step down as a member of Parliament in the spring.

Jeneroux said in a Nov. 6 statement that he was not being coerced into resigning, that he had a positive conversation with Poilievre and that he wanted to spend more time with his family.

But now, Jeneroux has changed his mind — a conclusion he said he reached after long discussions with his family.

“Those conversations have been honest, difficult, and deeply personal at times,” he said in a statement posted to social media.

“They also led me to reflect on the gravity of the moment that our country is living through — which our Prime Minister addressed head on in his speech at Davos. For Canada, this is a moment that demands steady leadership, constructive collaboration between all Parliamentarians, and a willingness to stand up and serve even when the path is not easy.”

This is the third such blow to Poilievre and the Conservative caucus in recent months. Ontario MP Michael Ma became the second to defect from the Tory ranks to the Carney Liberals on Dec. 18, and was warmly welcomed at the Liberal Christmas party. Ma had attended the Conservative Christmas party just a day prior.

Like D’Entremont and Ma, Jeneroux narrowly won his seat in the 2025 election, securing just over 50 per cent of the vote in Edmonton Riverbend.

The Liberals remain three seats short of a majority government after recently losing seats through the resignations of MPs Chrystia Freeland and Bill Blair.

A recent Supreme Court ruling also cost them a seat, overturning last spring’s election results in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne.

Liberal Tatiana Auguste had represented Terrebonne since last spring, after winning by just one vote over Bloc Québécois candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné.

Sinclair-Desgagné challenged the results and demanded a byelection after a party supporter complained she had tried to vote by mail using a special ballot, but it was never counted.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2026.

— With files from Michel Saba

Kyle Duggan and David Baxter, The Canadian Press