As the fallout from Leona Alleslev’s defection to the Conservatives continues, the comments from her former colleagues have remarkably tended not to be bitter or angry, but more bewilderment as she didn’t express any concerns to them beforehand, though there was understandably some shock from her riding association. That’s a bit shocking considering the pure vitriol that we’ve heard from Conservatives when they had defections in the past (particularly when women defected, if you recall the misogyny lobbed at Belinda Stronach after her floor-crossing). Of course, that also hasn’t stopped the Liberals from leaking effusive emails of praise that Alleslev sent them, and speeches she gave that completely contradict everything that she told the Commons on Monday when she made the decision. I remain struck by this insistence that the current government isn’t offering the “foundational change” she claims to be looking for, yet is aligning herself with a party whose recent policy convention was pretty much dominated with resolutions to simply turn back the clock to the Harper era, which was apparently a golden age. If she wanted “foundational change” from that, I’m not sure that going back to reinforce it is what she’s looking for.

Meanwhile, here’s a look at some of the history of floor-crossings in Canada, and the trends for when it goes well for those MPs, and when it all goes down in flames.

Bernier blindsided

Maxime Bernier’s team is finding it hard to keep up with online groups pretending to act on his behalf but have no actual associations with him, and which are posting offensive material and items that he says are contrary to his positions. I have two things to say about this: 1) It’s hard to believe that his team are such rank amateurs that they didn’t secure these domain names in the first place, which bodes ill for the kind of logistical knowledge they would need to run a national campaign; and 2) Bernier has brought much of this on himself. By winking to white nationalists, and by not even dog-whistling, but rather playing these tunes with a tuba, he’s invited the very xenophobes that he claims aren’t welcome in his party (as he keeps playing their tunes on his tuba while staring wide-eyed as they keep flocking, like he’s the Pied Piper of racists). This credulous, naïve act he’s putting on is getting a bit tiresome. If he doesn’t understand how his message plays out, that’s another strike against him being ready for the prime time of leading a credible political party.

Please note: I’ll be hosting a live chat today at 7 PM Eastern for $10 subscribers to my Patreon, to answer your questions about the return of Parliament. Subscribers have access to exclusive content not available elsewhere.

Good reads:

• Here’s the transcript of Justin Trudeau’s one-on-one with Paul Wells.
• Some US legislators are making threatening noises about NAFTA talks, as Chrystia Freeland returns to Washington to carry on negotiations.
• Chrystia Freeland says she’s monitoring the situation of Russian-Canadian Pussy Riot member Pyotr Verzilov and his apparent poisoning.
• There was a slight increase in irregular border crossers in August, but still far below the numbers from last summer.
• There are concerns that the Veterans Affairs is not approving requests for PTSD service dogs despite evidence they save lives.
• It looks like a Conservative amendment to the gun control bill has provided the Liberals with a foolproof rebuttal to any Conservative claims it revives the registry.
• The federal corporation registry is riddled with errors because of lax compliance enforcement. Slow clap, guys.
• The Royal Canadian Air Force is short some 275 pilots and even more mechanics as attrition has outpaced recruitment and training. Oops.
• Bryan Adams was before the Commons heritage committee yesterday to talk about changes to the Copyright Act.
• Oh noes! The prime minister’s trip to India cost more than initially reported…because all of the invoices had not come in yet.
• Federal government lawyers got their delay in the Abousfian Abdelrazik lawsuit, but the judge also awarded Abdelrazik his costs for the delay.
• There are questions about Senator Larry Campbell’s role on the board of a casino that has been accused of money laundering.
• The Alberta government has to do “damage control” after Jason Kenney’s trip to India, because they don’t know who he’s talking to and how he’s presenting himself.
• Robert Hiltz gives his evaluation of Monday’s Quebec English-language leaders’ debate.
• Susan Delacourt hears whispers of concern from federal corners about Doug Ford’s trip to Washington today.
• My column comes to the defence of the practice of floor crossing as an extension of the fundamental rights of MPs.

Odds and ends:

Department store Simons has apologised for naming a bra after former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

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