Canadian history is dotted with floor-crossers. Voters haven't always been thrilled

Traitor, shameful, brave, principled.

There’s a spectrum of terms used to describe MPs who cross the floor. But history shows us there’s one word that doesn’t always stick when Canadian politicians shed one party affiliation for another: re-electable.

Jaws dropped in Ottawa following the revelation that longtime Conservative Chris d'Entremont is joining the federal Liberal caucus — with Prime Minister Mark Carney hinting others could follow.

Floor-crossing is a political phenomenon dating back to Confederation. But a dive into the record books shows it has increasingly come at an electoral price.

“Switching parties is an extremely risky move that almost always hurts a politician's chances of re-election,” said Semra Sevi, assistant professor in the University of Toronto’s political sci