Shake-ups and departures change look of Conservatives

It was supposed to be a quiet five days in Ottawa, a chance for reporters to catch up on a backlog of stories while MPs visited their home ridings for constituency week.

Instead, political chaos ensued the morning of Feb. 9 as news broke that controversial Tory MP Eve Adams was crossing the floor to join the Liberals with plans to seek a party nomination in the Toronto area.

Adams’ defection makes her the 28th Conservative MP to announce he or she will not be running for the governing party in this year’s federal election.

Read Also

Downturn in grain farm economics threatens to be long term

We might look back at this fall as the turning point in grain farm economics — the point where making money became really difficult.

It’s not the first time Adams has made headlines.

The Toronto-area MP has faced a series of scandals in the past year.

Last spring, she and her then fiancé, former Conservative party executive director Dimitri Soudas, were accused of breaking party rules to try and secure Adams’ nomination in the new riding of Oakville North Burlington.

A former senior aide and one-time communications director to prime minister Stephen Harper, Soudas was fired in March after it became known he was trying to interfere in his fiancée’s nomination battle. The nomination race was later put on hold, with both Conservative candidates disqualified from the race.

Neither Adams nor Liberal leader Justin Trudeau would say whether Soudas, who is still reported to be dating Adams, would be involved in her campaign. Any involvement by Soudas in a Liberal election effort could be bad news for the Conservatives, given his in-depth knowledge of the party’s workings.

The nomination controversy isn’t the only scandal Adams has faced. Another incident involved a video that captured Adams throwing a temper tantrum at a local car wash after the owner insisted she pay for the $6 car wash.

At a news conference Feb. 9, Adams insisted she was leaving the Conservative party, whom she has supported since she was 14, because of its “mean-spirited leadership that divides people instead of bringing them together.” The party and its leadership no longer reflected her values, she added.

Despite her controversies, Adams’ departure from Conservative ranks comes as speculation in Ottawa mounts. After all, the former parliamentary secretary for health leaves just days after foreign affairs minister John Baird resigned from cabinet. His departure is said to have blindsided prime minister Stephen Harper, who was reportedly informed of the resignation via media reports.

A divisive figure, Baird was one of the few remaining heavyweights at Harper’s cabinet table, one of a handful of politicians known to grace the prime minister’s inner circle on a regular basis. It’s a position of influence similar to the one held by former finance minister Jim Flaherty, a cherished mentor of Baird’s and who’s death appears to have influenced his decision to leave politics.

Baird has insisted his departure is solely the result of personal reflection and a realization he has accomplished his political goals. However, he leaves with no clear employment offer on the table and just months before an election, in which he had already secured a nomination for the Ottawa riding of Nepean.

On Feb. 9, Harper announced that defence minister Rob Nicholson would take over for Baird as foreign affairs minister. Employment minister Jason Kenney moves to defence, while Pierre Polievre, a former parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, takes over employment and social development.

Polievre’s cabinet promotion shows just how weak the prime minister’s talent pool has become. The Ottawa MP and former minister for democratic reform is one of the most polarizing figures in federal politics.

He angered many during debate over the Fair Election Act by questioning the motives of critics such as the chief electoral officer and former auditor general Shelia Fraser.

With 27 MPs committed to retirement and Adams now on the other side of the floor, Harper is in an awkward spot.

Any more defections means questions about his leadership, and his ability to resonate with his caucus will likely emerge from the gossip woodwork into the main political conversation.

Retirements are always anticipated, particularly after nearly 10 years of governing.

Still, too many departures and folks begin to wonder if there is more to the political narrative, one that goes beyond a simple desire to spend more time with family.