Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont quits Conservatives, joins Carney Liberals after budget

Nova Scotia Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont has crossed the floor to join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government, marking a significant political shift ahead of crucial budget votes in Ottawa.

In a statement released late Tuesday, the Liberal Party confirmed that d’Entremont resigned from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s caucus following the tabling of the 2025 federal budget. The Acadie–Annapolis MP said the government’s spending plan reflected “the priorities I have heard most in my riding,” including investments in community infrastructure and local economic growth.

“After serious consideration and thoughtful conversations with constituents and my family, I came to a clear conclusion: there is a better path forward for our country — and a better path forward for Acadie–Annapolis,” d’Entremont said. “Prime Minister Mark Carney is offering that path with a new Budget that hits the priorities I have heard most in my riding.”

D’Entremont, first elected in 2019 by a margin of just 533 votes, had previously voiced concerns about the Conservative campaign’s limited focus on Atlantic Canada. Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer called the move “disappointing,” saying the MP owed an explanation to supporters who had backed his campaign.

“He’ll have to go back to the supporters in his riding that dug deep into their own pockets to support his campaign and explain why he took their precious time and resources and then turned his back on them,” Scheer said in an interview on CTV Power Play.

The longtime politician, who served as Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 2021 to 2025, had also sought the Speaker’s chair earlier this year. His departure brings Carney’s Liberals one seat closer to a parliamentary majority.

Before entering federal politics, d’Entremont represented Argyle–Barrington in the Nova Scotia legislature from 2003 to 2019.