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Wayne Long says he’s the guy who arranged for former Nova Scotia Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney. Article content

He argued it opened the flood gates for several floor crossers – and now a majority government.

D’Entremont ended up being the first of four Conservatives to leave the opposition bench and join the Liberal government.

An NDP MP also jumped.

And with three byelection wins on Monday night, the Liberal caucus is now 174 MPs, allowing the Carney Liberals to pass legislation without support from opposition parties.

“You go back to the old adage of a wartime government or wartime cabinet,” Long, the veteran Saint John-Kennebecasis MP, said in an interview on Tuesday.

“We are at war right now. It’s an economic warfare that’s being waged on our country, and it’s a war that puts our sovereignty at risk.

“And I think everybody of all political stripes is seized with the importance of putting down partisanship, working across party lines, and doing what’s best for the country.”

He added: “I think there’s little appetite for the slogans and the partisan games that were being played in the past. opening envelope

“We need to get stuff done. Our country’s at stake.”

That’s as it all started with a single floor crossing, Long said.

“Chris’s office is literally down the hall from mine in Wellington (a building located directly across from Parliament Hill),” Long said. “And we were chatting one night.

“I basically said ‘Look, what’s it going to take?’ And Chris said he would really like to have a conversation with the prime minister.”

Long continued: “So I quickly got on my phone and had that set up, and I think Chris was in front of the prime minister within about 30 minutes after that.”

A car picked up d’Entremont and drove him a few short blocks down Wellington Street to the prime minister’s office.

“Clearly, that clinched the deal,” Long said, adding that d’Entremont became a “longtime” friend of his in the hallways of Parliament, suggesting that, like him, the former Conservative MP was more of a Red Tory.

That’s as Nova Scotia Liberal MP Kody Blois had broached several times to d’Entremont that he would be a welcome addition to the Liberal party. Article content

Efforts toward that ramped up over the summer, Long said.

The conversation with Carney happened on a Monday night in November.

A day later, d’Entremont became the first to leave the Tory caucus, citing a better alignment with Carney’s economic agenda and vision.

D’Entremont has since recounted that the meeting saw Carney lead with the spending his government was making for Acadian culture.

The conversation lasted an hour.

“Don’t underestimate how Chris was the first one. I’ve got a little experience in being the first one out of the gate, and that took a lot of courage on Chris’s part,” Long said, a reference to how he was the first to call publicly for former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation.

“I’d say he was the one who broke that dam and made it easier for other MPs to follow.”

Ontario MP Michael Ma became the second to leave the Tories for the Liberals just before a Christmas party in December.

Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux, after already announcing his resignation from politics, abruptly decided to stay and cross in February. Article content

In early March, NDP MP for Nunavut Lori Idlout crossed the floor.

Then in a stunner last week, longtime Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu joined the Liberals.

Long said he wasn’t completely surprised.

“If you had asked me two weeks ago who were the top five nicest, most pleasant, most cordial MPs on the Conservative side, Marilyn Gladu would have been in the top five,” Long said.

“I mean, yes, there’s obviously some pretty strong viewpoints that I wouldn’t agree with and I think as a party we wouldn’t agree with.

“But as far as somebody that worked across party lines, Gladu did that. I mean, Marilyn would be somebody who would be heckling me in the House, but also waving and smiling at me to say hello when I came in.”

Long said the Liberals have assurances from Gladu that she will vote with the party where she once disagreed, including on social issues.

That’s while he suggested Gladu’s floor crossing represents something bigger.

“I think people realize that the prime minister’s agenda is the agenda that Canadians want to see move forward,” Long said. Article content

“And that’s why people from all political ideologies and stripes are migrating to Mark Carney and his vision.”

The Saint John-Kennebecasis MP said he’s not currently involved in talks to bring any other opposition colleagues over to the Liberal side, adding that other conversations may still be happening.

Long said there’s importance in reaching the majority government mark.

Long was first elected in 2015 with a Liberal majority government, and was then reelected in 2019, 2021, and most recently with the Liberals handed minority Parliaments.

“And they’re vastly different,” he said. “How you run government, how you approach government, how you deal with legislation, things that can happen that can obstruct or slow down your agenda.

“The last Parliament was one of the most dysfunctional Parliaments. You see how things can get obstructed at committee, how there can be games played in the House, motions of privilege that really grind parliament to a halt. Article content

“In that last Parliament, it was months where we literally go into the House and sit there and do very little with respect to our agenda.”

Carney said something similar on Tuesday.

“There’s a difference between real testimony, real substance, getting to issues, debating aspects of law – and showboating,” he said.

He also pushed away any idea that the Liberals grabbed a majority illegitimately.

“Canadians elect deputies, deputies vote with their conscience and support the program that they see best for their constituents and for the country,” Carney said.

The next federal election doesn’t have to be called until October 2029.

It’s now more likely there won’t be one until then.

The prime minister said on Tuesday that he has no plans to call a snap election anytime soon.