Juno News - Conservative MP EXPOSES Liberal tactics to recruit floor-crossers

00:00:00.000 Well, Prime Minister Carney says world leaders that he has spoken to have quietly expressed

00:00:09.840 regret at having signed trade deals with the Trump administration.

00:00:14.500 Carney himself promised to deliver a trade agreement by last July.

00:00:19.120 Having failed to deliver, he says other countries made deals they now regret.

00:00:23.400 You know, a lot of countries rushed into deals with the U.S.

00:00:27.100 They weren't really worth the paper they were written on.

00:00:30.380 There's a lot of buyers.

00:00:32.060 Well, you can, well, I'll put it back to you and tell me which country you bumped into that's pleased with their deal with the U.S.

00:00:40.780 You don't think there are any?

00:00:42.800 Well, certainly not in private.

00:00:46.160 Well, Carney didn't really name any of those other countries or provide specifics.

00:00:49.600 He also says the actions of Premier Doug Ford have undermined efforts to get a trade deal with the Americans.

00:00:57.760 He points to the provincial ban on U.S. wine and spirits and the Reagan ads as examples.

00:01:04.020 There's our premier skipping over this, you know.

00:01:06.060 Yeah.

00:01:06.960 Great group.

00:01:09.040 Cooperative federalism.

00:01:10.320 Cooperative but also independent.

00:01:12.920 I mean, we talked about it a little bit.

00:01:15.360 The ad, you know, not putting American booze back on.

00:01:19.960 This is, how frustrating is that or how encouraging is it?

00:01:22.840 Well, I would say, look, they have their own responsibilities

00:01:26.360 and they're elected and they make decisions

00:01:28.040 and sometimes it makes life a little more difficult, but that's...

00:01:31.500 Did Doug Ford make life a little more difficult?

00:01:33.460 With the ad, yeah, well, yes, yes he did.

00:01:36.680 Yes he did.

00:01:37.280 I mean, but he knows that and Doug,

00:01:39.140 don't yell at me for pointing out the obvious,

00:01:41.760 but that was true.

00:01:43.040 Carney's $25 billion sovereign wealth fund is under more scrutiny today.

00:01:48.300 According to Canada's finance minister, the taxpayer-backed fund will all be borrowed, albeit at the best rates available.

00:01:56.440 Let's listen.

00:01:57.040 Can you explain a little bit more where the money for this fund is coming from,

00:02:00.180 and specifically how much of this $25 billion endowment will be debt versus equity from the government?

00:02:05.920 Well, that's a very good question.

00:02:07.180 So what we said in our release today is that we will invest 25 billion as seed capital in the fund.

00:02:16.980 As you know, Canada, because we're one of the very few countries in the world,

00:02:21.620 I would say there's only two countries in the G7 which have a AAA credit rating,

00:02:26.480 Canada can borrow on the international market at some of the lowest rates that you could see.

00:02:31.800 And therefore, by putting the seed money, we will be able to invest in these projects, in these Canadian companies, and generate higher returns for Canadians.

00:02:43.420 As you heard there, the fund is intended to provide financial support for Canadian startups.

00:02:49.960 But not everybody is impressed. Conservative party leader Pierre Polyev says it makes no sense for government to bankroll businesses that can't attract private funding.

00:03:00.040 If a project has a business case, why would the government need to fund it?

00:03:04.720 If it doesn't have a business case, why would the government want to fund it?

00:03:09.520 And why can't projects get funding now?

00:03:11.980 Is it because investment doesn't exist?

00:03:14.020 Of course not.

00:03:15.180 There's a trillion dollars of investment from Canada, now invested outside of Canada, according to Royal Bank.

00:03:24.060 In fact, Statistics Canada reported in Q3 of last year that trustee Canadian pension funds held $1.33 trillion in foreign assets.

00:03:35.480 That is, a majority of Canadian pension funds are now invested outside of Canada.

00:03:41.760 There are more Canadians opening businesses out of Canada than in Canada.

00:03:45.900 The investment exists. It comes from our country. It just can't get a return in our country.

00:03:52.080 Putting another $25 billion on the national credit card to pad a liberal slush fund will not change that.

00:04:00.500 We have a clearer picture today of how the liberals are luring opposition party members to cross the floor.

00:04:07.480 So far, four conservatives and one new Democrat have joined the Carney liberals.

00:04:12.260 Having failed to win a majority government at the ballot box, liberals have been using a combination of threats, flattery, monetary incentives, 0.99

00:04:21.020 and spending commitments to attract floor crossers. 1.00

00:04:25.240 We know this because conservative MP Kelly DeRitter 0.99

00:04:27.900 of Kitchener Center was targeted in this way

00:04:30.460 and is speaking publicly about it.

00:04:33.360 She'll be our guest today on Straight Up. 1.00

00:04:35.920 One of the floor crossers, Michael Ma, 1.00

00:04:37.820 was just handed a plum assignment 1.00

00:04:39.420 on the Public Accounts Committee.

00:04:41.500 Conservative Stephanie Cusey posted this video on X.

00:04:44.580 You won't believe who the latest member

00:04:46.960 of the Public Accounts Committee is.

00:04:48.940 It is Michael Ma, the undemocratically elected liberal member who floor crossed.

00:04:56.960 So this committee spent four hours telling us how important this committee is in terms of oversight and the democratic process, and we should work together.

00:05:06.960 And then they appoint the floor crosser, the one with suspicious ties to foreign interference, to this prestigious oversight committee.

00:05:17.420 You can't make this stuff up, but it happened.

00:05:20.900 And our guest today is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Kitchener Center, Kelly DeRitter.

00:05:25.200 Welcome to the show, Kelly. Appreciate it.

00:05:27.520 Thank you very much. Thanks for having me.

00:05:29.780 All right. So thanks to you, we're getting a glimpse into how the liberal floor crossing machine actually works.

00:05:37.740 And, you know, I think those types of details are very helpful when people want to figure out,

00:05:42.320 why is this person making the jump and it seems very calculated it seems like they've got a plan

00:05:49.120 and it includes things like threats uh then flattery and i guess if that doesn't work then

00:05:55.200 certain subtle uh incentives are provided monetary and otherwise could you take us back to the start

00:06:01.760 of how it began when the liberals reached out to you and said hey you know maybe you should

00:06:06.320 consider joining our team so it was a phone call between um a liberal member of parliament and

00:06:14.320 myself and as i posted in my video it started with fear that a person will be put into my writing

00:06:23.680 that would be supported by both the liberals and the greens and so as a conservative i didn't stand

00:06:28.480 a chance to win in the next election and when i responded with okay uh the next was flattery they

00:06:35.520 see what i'm doing on the science and research committee and the interest i've taken in ai

00:06:40.560 and digital policy and that they feel there's a spot for them on their team under that portfolio

00:06:47.440 and so i thanked them for uh pumping my tires a little bit but still the answer is no and then it

00:06:56.240 went into well you know as a technology hub kitchener center is canada's innovation capital

00:07:02.160 and as a technology hub it would be good for your riding to be a part of government and so again

00:07:09.600 thank you for you know your words but no and this and then the conversation ended there and said we

00:07:18.800 it won't be brought up again from this point forward um unless you reach out to us was how

00:07:24.320 it was left off so it sounds like the liberals did not take no for an answer at least for a while

00:07:30.000 Can you tell us which Liberal MP reached out to you?

00:07:34.320 So there is a level of, you know, parliamentary respect here in the House of Commons.

00:07:39.120 And while I'm willing to share my story, I do want to respect my colleague

00:07:43.920 on the other side of the House and not bring them forward as the individual who approached me.

00:07:50.320 I don't want to get into, you know, is it bigger than a breadbox type of thing?

00:07:55.040 Was it a cabinet minister, can you say, or was it somebody, a backbencher?

00:08:00.000 I'd rather just focus on the tactics that were used in my conversation instead of putting out there who it was.

00:08:10.280 Understood.

00:08:11.280 Okay, so it started with threats saying, you know, we're going to beat you.

00:08:14.940 Yeah.

00:08:15.500 I mean, the obvious answer is, well, that's what you are supposed to be trying to do is to defeat me, you know.

00:08:22.720 Well, you know what, I'll leave that up to the voters.

00:08:24.760 your head that you know we're coming after you next election and you're not going to win and so

00:08:30.540 you might as well come over to our side is that pretty much the way you read it yeah when they

00:08:36.480 say my writing has been both liberal then conservative then liberal then green before me

00:08:44.620 and now back to conservative so when they say that they're going to put someone who's supported by

00:08:50.760 the two parties that it has also been in my riding then yes i take that as though you know

00:08:58.520 trying to say well then we'll just take you out the next go around so you might as well join us

00:09:03.480 and but i say i'm gonna leave that to the voter right so you must have some thoughts about the

00:09:11.920 people who went the other way and said oh sounds like a good deal michael ma for instance i just

00:09:17.300 handed a plum assignment on the public accounts committee. And we heard from Stephanie Cusey,

00:09:22.380 your colleague in caucus, put a video out of that. So this is obviously a message sent out to people

00:09:29.940 like you, you know, you play ball with us, come over to our side and, you know, you're going to

00:09:33.920 get a sweet, a sweetheart deal too, just like Michael Ma did. Yeah. So in my, in my conversation,

00:09:41.000 It was very carefully worded as there was no offer on the table of a ministry or a parliamentary second secretary position or anything like that.

00:09:53.340 But the words to me of it would be good for your riding to be a part of the government is a way of reading between the lines to say, we'll do we'll splash some cash into Kitchener Center if you cross sides.

00:10:07.460 That's how I read it.

00:10:08.680 typical pork barrel politics, you know, that's what that's what that's all about. And so it

00:10:14.940 sounds to me like they were trying not to break the law, because as you're aware, I mean, it is

00:10:21.760 a criminal code of defense to bribe or offer financial incentives for somebody to do something

00:10:28.520 an elected official to do something that benefits somebody else, and possibly yourself. So they're

00:10:35.260 trying to just be on this side of the law by the sounds of it what do you think what i think is that

00:10:42.940 we need to concentrate on democracy in this country and the voices of the people are what

00:10:49.900 matter in this country and i don't think that we should be actively recruiting members of an

00:10:56.320 opposition to form a government i just think that this is the this is the threat of our democracy

00:11:03.960 right now and this is what's happening and and i'm hearing you know in main media news streams that

00:11:12.360 you that this is a problem with the conservative party or a problem with our leadership

00:11:18.520 and i just was really honestly tired of hearing that and so i wanted to come out with my story

00:11:24.840 to say it has nothing to do with the conservative party and it has nothing to do with our leadership

00:11:31.560 these were individual decisions that were made through active recruitment could you tell us when

00:11:38.040 this happened does that was this a recent thing like this was after the last floor crosser

00:11:44.200 no actually it was before the last floor crosser it was the last time that we were in our writings

00:11:48.680 before we went back to sit this go around so we're talking about a month ago two months ago

00:11:55.640 Yeah. About a month ago. And yeah, I mean, the media seems to be using the floor crossers as a

00:12:01.960 way to bash your leader, Pierre Polyev. And so I think this is probably one of the things that the

00:12:07.460 liberals particularly like about this. The more people we can get across, the more we know that

00:12:12.420 our friends in the legacy media are going to just blame it all on Pierre Polyev. So not only do we

00:12:17.680 get a floor crosser and add to our numbers, but we also turn up the heat on the guy we really don't

00:12:23.040 like which is Pierre Polyev what do you think so I think that's exactly what's happening but the

00:12:28.220 problem with that though is that it's not okay when the national news is holding the opposition

00:12:34.200 to account more than the actual government but really our freedom is at stake here when this

00:12:40.900 starts to happen and the question should be asked is why are you actively recruiting members of the

00:12:48.420 opposition to form a majority government and even for the committee reshuffle I just saw in the news

00:12:54.740 recently we're talking about an overreach of the committee reshuffle you only need six why are you

00:13:00.580 putting in seven and the question was asked of the conservative party well if you had a majority

00:13:05.640 government wouldn't you have committees structured for a majority government listen the answer is

00:13:11.380 yes when elected as a majority government we will have committees structured to a majority but

00:13:18.400 The question that isn't being asked is, if you were elected a minority government, would you recruit members of the opposition to form a majority government in parliament? And that answer is no. No, as a Conservative Party, we would not do that because we respect the voters' choice. We work for the people, not the other way around. We believe in democracy and we believe in these institutions.

00:13:42.040 i mean there was a liberal floor crosser when harper had his minority um i think it's keith

00:13:49.740 emerson i don't know if that was the case where he was recruited though or did he just

00:13:54.240 volunteer to come over i don't know i mean it's it's kind of a fuzzy line

00:13:58.300 but um i take your point that canadians did not vote for a majority government

00:14:04.740 and yet they're getting one anyway and in fact they have one now and it seems like uh the prime

00:14:11.780 minister has an extra skip in his step these days because he knows that he's not going to have to

00:14:16.260 be held to account in these ethics investigations that have started. And, you know, the whole issue

00:14:23.000 around him is relationship with Brookfield and stock portfolio and insistence that he sell it.

00:14:28.680 All these pressures on the prime minister, a lot of that is going to be eased up once he's got the

00:14:33.540 numbers on committee. So that's provided them, I think, a huge incentive to get that majority

00:14:41.680 by hook or by crook. And unfortunately, it's added a great deal to the level of cynicism,

00:14:47.240 I think, by the electorate. And I mean, in a way, I tip my hat to you and others because I'm sure

00:14:54.640 you've got many colleagues who say, yeah, they tried the same thing with me. Have you done a

00:14:58.780 head count on how many of your colleagues in caucus were approached? I don't know specifically

00:15:05.620 how many were approached. I know I think we're at about seven right now who've come forward to say

00:15:09.640 that they have been. I don't know beyond that for the ones that have come forward. I just know my

00:15:15.280 own personal story and I thought it was time I shared my personal story so that Canadians can

00:15:21.460 see the truth of what's actually happening here. And it was important to me to share what had

00:15:28.500 happened for me and also very important for me to say unequivocally no. So let me get this straight

00:15:38.600 here if I do the checkbox of their approach, because I assume it's the same with every MP,

00:15:44.280 or very similar. They started off with threats. They moved on to flattery. Is that right?

00:15:51.400 Then it was incentives of one type or another. Is that correct?

00:15:57.880 Carefully worded.

00:15:59.640 Yeah. And then it was, we can help your riding.

00:16:02.520 Yes.

00:16:03.400 Which I guess, according to Marilyn Gladue, was the

00:16:08.600 thing that pushed her over the edge, I suppose, is that she said, well, you know, I'm going to be

00:16:14.260 able to get so much help for my riding. That's how she thought she could justify it. And she's

00:16:19.140 encountered all sorts of backlash in Sarnia and the surrounding area. Do your constituents,

00:16:29.060 are they aware, I guess they're getting more and more aware of what you've gone through? Have they

00:16:34.180 approached you and said you know one thing or another good for you or have they made any comments

00:16:39.540 regarding what's happened to you yeah the constituents that have voted for me have come

00:16:44.500 out to say thank you just thank you thank you for keeping your integrity thank you for

00:16:51.140 allowing our voices to stand in this writing just thank you for not falling for the recruitment

00:16:59.300 trap and being our representative in Kitchener Center. I mean, that must make you feel pretty

00:17:06.400 good. It does. Well, it does. Yes. But I will always lead with integrity. You know, I didn't

00:17:13.360 do this for personal gain. I did this to be voices for the people who feel voiceless. I did this

00:17:19.420 to serve the residents of Kitchener Center. And I do truly value that members of parliament should

00:17:27.320 be working for their writings and not the other way around when this started i'm going to assume

00:17:33.040 that you put in a call to the leader's office and said you know this is happening i want you to be

00:17:38.140 aware of it i've already said no hey can you recall what they responded to you with again thank you

00:17:46.740 what else is to be said other than thank you for taking the path of integrity instead of you know

00:17:54.900 self-need or want or whatever the reasons are that the other members chose to cross.

00:18:01.380 I mean, could there be, and I want to watch my words carefully, but

00:18:08.180 a quid pro quo down the road. In other words, you know what, we remember you. We remember that you

00:18:12.580 stuck by us when we were in opposition. And, you know, we're going to reward you because you've

00:18:19.220 earned it by sticking with our team rather than crossing the floor do you think that that might be

00:18:25.860 a factor down the road sometime no i i did not do this again for my own gain or benefit i did

00:18:32.820 this because i needed canadians to know what's actually happening here and that a person with

00:18:39.700 integrity sitting here today is saying i'm not going to be recruited my answer is no and that

00:18:47.620 i had to bring this story forward this has nothing to do with any sort of personal gain or anything

00:18:53.540 to do with the party i individually made this decision to come forward on my own and talk about

00:18:59.140 my own story so no i don't think that there's going to be anything coming in the future because

00:19:04.340 of nor do you expect anything i understand anything about integrity how many calls did you get from the

00:19:11.220 liberal person you're i guess the person who was trying to lure you across just just the one

00:19:17.620 just the one call yeah I think I was definitive enough to say don't call me again yeah and so

00:19:26.200 what are your thoughts about those who caved the Michael Maas of the world and the Chris

00:19:30.760 D'Anthra Maas of the world the Marilyn Gladius of the world what I personally think is each

00:19:37.660 individual member has come forward to tell their reason uh why they think that it was good for them

00:19:44.060 across. But at the end of the day, Marilyn Gledo won with almost 52% of the vote. So when she says

00:19:50.760 it's about her constituents, I don't believe it. Chris D'Entremont came forward and said that he

00:19:57.460 didn't like the democratic process to become the deputy leader and that if he had to became the

00:20:04.540 deputy leader, we wouldn't maybe be in this situation right now. So that speaks for itself.

00:20:10.320 And at the end of the day, Michael Ma owes his seat to Pierre Polyev as well as I do and 25 other new members of parliament and to our leadership.

00:20:21.640 And so he went against that and chose, you know, his own path.

00:20:26.820 Kelly Derrider, thank you so much for coming on the show.

00:20:29.160 We really appreciate what you've done and in fact, you've been able to come out and talk about it.

00:20:33.760 Thank you so much again for having me today.

00:20:35.540 If you enjoyed this show, consider supporting great independent journalism by becoming a

00:20:40.080 premier member of Juno News. Please go to junonews.com backslash straight up. You can find

00:20:45.760 the link below. It helps us do what we do. Thank you so much. We'll see you next time.

Juno News - April 28, 2026

Conservative MP EXPOSES Liberal tactics to recruit floor-crossers

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