Marilyn Gladu says her decision to move to the Liberal Party has been something she's been thinking about for nearly a year.
The Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong MP announced on Wednesday she was defecting from the Conservatives.
Speaking with Sarnia News Today, she said the decision came following a series of events.
"Starting last year when Pierre lost the election and lost his seat, a lot of the Conservative base in Sarnia was pretty upset and didn't have any confidence that he could fix that in the future," said Gladu. "So, I started to hear about that and then I started to hear people say "you know, I really like this Mark Carney guy."
She said after MP Chris d'Entremont crossed the floor, there was a lot of discussion about 'who else?' But, she never thought it would be her.
"Until, I started having people stop me at the grocery store and say you need to cross the floor. I had long-term Conservative supporters who said "we like you, we've supported you for 10 years but honestly we've got to get back on the government support, we'll be voting Liberal," said Gladu.
Since her decision to defect, Gladu said she has not spoken with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
"I've heard from many of my colleagues, I have a lot of friends on the Conservative bench and that hasn't changed. They do understand what I'm doing and why. The leader reached out, I didn't take his call. The time for talk with him has been the last two years where we've had conversations, that was the time for talking and now is the time for action."
Following the announcement, a petition was launched calling for the MP's resignation.
Gladu said she understands the hate level that comes with crossing the floor, but to the people who voted for her in the past, she said she is the same person they re-elected for a fourth term in 2025.
"I thank them for al the support that they've given me and I just want them to know, that they elected me to express certain views and my views haven't changed. But, the prime minister is allowing me to bring those views inside the tent, where I think they're going to have a lot more influence than outside the tent," said Gladu.
Roger Gallaway was the last Liberal to represent Sarnia-Lambton in the House of Commons. He lost to Conservative Pat Davidson in 2006.
"I'm very happy, I've been super welcomed in on the Liberal side and I have lots of friends over there as well and I think it's going to be a really good time for Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong," said Gladu.
You can hear our full conversation with Marilyn Gladu in the latest episode of our podcast, Sarnia-Lambton Beyond the Headlines.
