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The Liberals’ newest MP, Matt Jeneroux, will join Prime Minister Mark Carney on a whirlwind trade trip to India, Australia and Japan later this week.
The longtime Alberta Conservative announced last week he was crossing the floor to join the governing party, just months after he said he planned to leave politics altogether amid a frenzy of rumours that he was joining the Liberals.
The Edmonton Riverbend MP now finds himself joining the prime minister on his latest travels abroad, this time with stops in Mumbai, New Delhi, Sydney, Canberra and Tokyo in his new capacity as “special adviser on economic and security partnerships,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Tuesday also marked Jeneroux’s return to the House of Commons. He was spotted sitting in the front row for his first question period as a Liberal.
Liberal MP Matt Jeneroux — the most recent floor-crosser from the Conservatives — is joining the prime minister’s delegation to India, Australia and Japan this week. International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu says Jeneroux brings ‘value to the team’ and that ‘we could use the help.’
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Defence Minister David McGuinty and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu, as well as New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, will be on the India leg of the trip.
A smaller group, including Jeneroux, is staying on for the Australia and Tokyo portions.Â
Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer questioned Jeneroux’s priorities, after he announced he was leaving politics to focus on his family. At the time, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Jeneroux would officially leave in the spring.
“Here’s a guy that said that he didn’t have time to do the job he was elected to do on behalf of taxpayers. And now he’s suddenly got time to travel to India,” Scheer said.
Questioned on the timing, Sidhu said the trip is “absolutely not” a present for Jeneroux.
“He brings much value to the team,” said the minister following a cabinet meeting. “I’m happy that he’s coming along because we can use the help.”
Jeneroux is the third Conservative the Liberals have successfully poached in recent months, starting with Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont in November and Toronto-area MP Michael Ma in December.
Ma was included in Carney’s trip to Beijing and Qatar earlier this year, not long after he crossed the floor. The PMO said at the time that was because his Markham-Unionville riding is home to one of Canada’s largest Chinese Canadian communities.
Carney to address Australia’s Parliament
Jeneroux’s floor-crossing brings the Liberal seat count in the House of Commons to 169 MPs, against the 171 opposition MPs. There are three vacancies.
Jeneroux hasn’t taken reporters’ questions since leaving the Conservative caucus, but in a statement last week, he said he decided to cross the floor after reflecting “on the gravity of the moment that our country is living through.”
Months after announcing he was leaving politics, Alberta Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux has crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus. CBC’s Cat Tunney answers some of your questions about the defection.
In November, it was widely believed Jeneroux was considering defecting to government benches and had even met with Carney, but he appeared to put that speculation to bed when he abruptly announced his plans to retire from federal politics.Â
Jeneroux had not been spotted in the House of Commons since and abstained from voting alongside his then Conservative colleagues on a key confidence vote last year.
Carney has made reducing Canada’s reliance on the United States a key part of his platform, and is heading to the Indo-Pacific region to discuss trade.
Carney and his delegation leave Thursday.
He will first touch down in Mumbai for talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business leaders.
During a stop in the Australian capital, Carney will address both houses of that country’s Parliament — the first time a Canadian prime minister has done so in 20 years.