MP Chris d’Entremont’s jump from Tories to Liberals sparks chatter across Nova Scotia

By Canadian Press on November 5, 2025.

HALIFAX — A Nova Scotia MP’s high-profile jump from the federal Conservatives to the Liberals has sparked chatter across the region.

Acadia University political scientist Alex Marland speculated that Acadie-Annapolis MP Chris d’Entremont’s decision to cross the floor was due in part to feeling “marginalized” by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

Marland, who co-authored a book on party loyalty and floor-crossing in Canadian politics, says these decisions depend heavily on a politician’s relationship with their party leader.

D’Entremont told reporters today he didn’t feel his values as a “red Tory” were being reflected in the current Conservative caucus, and did not feel aligned with the party’s “negative” approach.

Rob Batherson, a former Conservative party president who ran unsuccessfully in a Halifax riding earlier this year, says he doesn’t believe d’Entremont took issue with Poilievre’s leadership style and can’t understand what drove him to make this move to “deprive Nova Scotians” of a Conservative voice in Ottawa.

Mount Saint Vincent University political scientist Jeffrey MacLeod says he thinks it may serve d’Entremont well to distance himself from Poilievre’s style of governing.

MacLeod says many Nova Scotians would identify as moderate conservatives, and they may appreciate Prime Minister Mark Carney’s approach over Poilievre’s “brand of MAGA-light social conservatism.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2025.

The Canadian Press