NDP MP Lori Idlout Crosses Floor to Join Liberals

The move brings the Liberals’ seat count to 170, two shy of a majority.

NDP MP for Nunavut Lori Idlout rises during Question Period in Ottawa on Sept. 20, 2024. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Nunavut MP Lori Idlout has left the NDP to join the Liberals, bringing the governing party closer to a majority.

Her departure was first announced late on March 10 by Interim NDP Leader Don Davies who expressed disappointment at the move. In a statement issued by the Liberal Party hours later, Idlout said she decided to join the Liberals because of “new threats against our sovereignty” impacting the North.

“Nunavut and the North are central to Canada’s future, and the rights and aspirations of Indigenous peoples must be at the heart of Canada’s democracy,” Idlout said in a statement issued in the early hours of March 11.

“With new threats against our sovereignty and pressures on the wellbeing of people throughout the North, we need a strong and ambitious government that makes decisions with Nunavut — not only about Nunavut. The success of that work needs all of our voices.”

Idlout said she made the decision after consulting with her community and family, adding that she wants to “work alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney to build the better future that Nunavummiut are counting on.”

Davies said that the NDP is “very disappointed” at Idlout’s decision, adding that his party is against MPs changing their affiliation without going through an election.

“We believe that when someone rejects the decision of their electors and wants to join another party, they should put that decision to their voters,” Davies said.

Idlout had previously publicly rejected the Liberals’ offer to join their caucus, saying in a statement in January that she is “proud of what my fellow NDP Members and I have been able to accomplish during my 2 terms as MP.”

Idlout was one of the two NDP MPs who abstained from voting on the Liberal government’s budget in November 2025, saying she couldn’t vote against the budget because it had a number of commitments related to Nunavut. As a party, the NDP had decided to vote against the budget, saying that it didn’t have the measures the party was looking for. However, the party allowed two caucus members to abstain to ensure the government’s budget still passed to avoid another election only months after the April 28, 2025, election.

With Idlout leaving the NDP, the party now has six seats in the House of Commons.

Liberals’ Seat Count

Idlout’s floor-crossing follows in the footsteps of three Conservative MPs who joined the Liberals in recent months. The latest floor-crossing brings the governing Liberals’ total seat count to 170, two shy of a majority.

There are currently three vacant seats in the House of Commons after former Liberal cabinet ministers and Toronto-area MPs Chrystia Freeland and Bill Blair resigned as parliamentarians, and following a Supreme Court of Canada ruling last month overturning the April 2025 election outcome in the Montreal-area riding of Terrebonne, which had been won by the Liberal candidate by one vote.

Carney has called for byelections to fill the seats to be held on April 13. The two Toronto-area ridings have traditionally been safe seats for the Liberals, while the byelection in Terrebonne could again be a close race between the Liberal and the Bloc Québécois candidates.

With a potential 172 seats, the Liberals would have a majority but would need Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia, a Liberal, to vote if no opposition MPs support their bills. Speakers only vote in the event of a tie.

Idlout was first elected to the House of Commons as an NDP MP in 2021, and was re-elected in 2025. Before entering politics, she worked as a lawyer and non-profit executive.

Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed welcomed Idlout to the party.

“Looking forward to working with you,” Noormohamed said on social media.

Conservative MP Aaron Gunn accused Carney of “attempting what is maybe the least democratic thing in Canadian history.”

“If you want a majority government in Canada, you should earn it at the ballot box,” Gunn said.