Idlout gains ‘leverage’ by joining Liberals, former MP says
‘The knives will be out,’ cautions Peter Ittinuar, who also crossed the floor of the House of Commons more than 4 decades ago
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with Nunavut MP Lori Idlout in the prime minister’s office in the West Block on Parliament Hill in this photo posted to his Facebook page Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of Mark Carney / Facebook)
Crossing the floor of the House of Commons is a “very difficult” decision to make but it comes with the opportunity to have “leverage,” says former MP Peter Ittinuar, who made that political gamble four decades ago.
Ittinuar said he sympathizes with Nunavut MP Lori Idlout, who switched party affiliations Tuesday to join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal caucus after more than four years as a New Democratic Party caucus member.
Former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, left, sits with former Nunatsiaq MP Peter Ittinuar in this undated photo. (Photo courtesy of Peter Ittinuar, special to Nunatsiaq News)
Ittinuar similarly switched from the NDP to the Liberals in 1982 over what he described as a desire to influence the government during Nunavut land claim negotiations.
“You’re either in the opposition or on the government side, and yelling and screaming from the opposition side is not very effective or efficient,” Ittinuar said in an interview Wednesday, reacting to the news Idlout had crossed the floor.
“To get into the government side, all of a sudden you will have ministers ready to meet with you. These are people who influence or develop policy.”
The Liberals now have 170 House of Commons seats, two shy of the 172 needed for a majority government. That majority could be obtained next month depending on the results of three federal byelections.
Idlout has offered few details about why she switched, but said in a Liberal party news release she reached the decision after “much personal reflection and encouragement” from her “community, family and supporters.”
Neither Idlout nor the Liberal party responded to interview requests Wednesday. She spoke briefly to reporters before a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill Wednesday morning.
“Like with any complicated issue, it wasn’t just one thing that happened,” Idlout said.
“There are a variety of many things that have allowed me to really reflect on this and I’m very thankful to be so warmly welcomed.”
Carney, who was beside Idlout, said he was “very honoured” to have her in the Liberal caucus, calling her “one of Canada’s greatest constituency MPs.”
NDP interim Leader Don Davies broke the news of Idlout’s switch Tuesday night. On Wednesday, he re-emphasized the NDP has a “longstanding” anti-floor crossing position, then in French called her decision “anti-democratic.”
Nunavut MP Lori Idlout smiles as Liberal MPs applaud her in the House of Commons on Wednesday. (Screenshot courtesy of ParlVu.ca)
Switching parties may be seen as a “betrayal,” Ittinuar said, but it’s also an opportunity for an MP to have more influence.
Former senator Dennis Patterson also mentioned “influence.” After the last election, the NDP was reduced to seven members and lost party status in the House of Commons.
“Nunavut ended up with an MP who was effectively muzzled,” Patterson said in a Facebook message.
The NDP’s House of Commons standings meant Idlout could not sit on committees and was limited in her ability to ask questions.
“So she crossed the floor to have influence,” Patterson said.
Idlout made her first House of Commons appearance as a Liberal at Wednesday’s question period, where she received a standing ovation from her new Liberal colleagues.
“I am proud to join a team that will take the larger picture of meeting the current political environment and is set on meeting the immediate needs of the North,” Idlout said before asking Northern Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand about the government’s food security plans.
Ittinuar said he hopes to speak to Idlout soon to share his advice about moving forward with the switch she made.
“The knives will be out, the naysayers will be out, and in this world of anonymous commentary on social media and so forth, people somehow acquire courage to say the nastiest things,” he said.
I do recall voting for the Red party not her! I don’t want you as my MP, staying face is a joke in todays world.
Do you want an MP who stays loyal to the party, or one that fights for Nunavut with an independent enough mind that she adapts to the circumstances in order to bring the best for her constituents?
I for one want an MP who puts the interests of her constituents above the interests of her party – something increasingly rare in Canadian politics.
Lori had to do what is best for Nunavut and we should all be supporting her efforts in moving us to have more influence in government.
Everyone in Canada Knew the Libs were going to win, I voted for them here in Nunavut, I never voted for her to be my rep! Why you Nunavutmuit voted her in? Next time just vote smarter!
Wait a minute – does this mean Ministers were unwilling to meet with Idlout until she became a Liberal? Because that suggests a level of immaturity and selfishness even I didn’t think the Liberals possessed.
They talk all day long about loving Nunavut and Nunavummiut, but what we’re being told is they are unwilling to meet with our duly elected representative unless they wear a red jersey.
Let us note Ittinuar as a floor-crosser is himself a born-again Liberal, and thus has an interest in playing up the benefits to make himself sound good.
The reality is this was a cynical move to save face by the Liberals, and a lazy move by Idlout who didn’t like having to do her own thinking and wants someone else to do it for her.
Any review of social media in the past 24 hours shows her constituents are furious with her. Something tells me she won’t be doing a tour of communities again any time soon.
“The knives will be out, the naysayers will be out, and in this world of anonymous commentary on social media and so forth, people somehow acquire courage to say the nastiest things,” he said.
People love to talk smack when they know they can’t get smacked back
so what’s your name?
Let’s watch and wait to see if this pays off before we start to congratulate Lori. If nothing comes out of this for Nunavut, and Lori gets muzzled by being a part of the government and begins to praise cuts in funding that she used to rightfully criticize, we know that crossing the floor was a waste of time and it’s not the magic solution people seem to think it is… it would men going from ignored on the outside with a critical voice, to being ignored on the inside with no one publicly raising the issue at all.
.
Also, if we wait and see Nunavut and Inuit getting nothing in return, but we see Lori shuffled into cabinet… we’ll know why she made the decision to cross, and it wasn’t because she was thinking of all of us!
Lori shouldn’t be representing Inuit. She needs to represent Nunavut, and ALL people living there. Representing Inuit is what the Inuit orgs do (should do, but don’t seem to)
Inuit are the majority, she does represent Inuit, what you think Government of Nunavut and Nunavut in general is an apartheid system were only MPs and MLAs, GN should only represent 15% of the population?
Protect our communities
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/iqaluit-man-pleads-not-guilty-on-alcohol-selling-charges-1.782296
with this , our taxes are hit hard now in Nunavut. she went too hard for Jordans Principle now we have to pay into it ? I have nothing to do with JP, never once access the program
do you see a change in your take home pay or income tax? Also other families, single mothers or fathers rely on Jordon Principle for their children that needed. Lori didn’t cause the increase, NTI and other indigenous organizations also push to have JP continue. Rest easy your life has been altered that much.
Last September, Lori publicly said this and I quote:
“ They would rather dig for critical minerals than ensure Inuit have food to eat. I am disgusted by the Carney government’s response to Nunavut”.
And now she admires the Carney government and is happy to join it. I wonder how much she cares now about whether Inuit have food to eat? I’ve had it with politicians. They have no principles and what they say is worthless.
She just proved that money does talk and buys influence and loyalty.
Many people in the North feel the housing crisis we’re seeing today in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut didn’t happen overnight—it’s the result of decades of underinvestment and slow action from federal governments in Ottawa. For years, governments, including those led by the Liberal Party of Canada, have talked about supporting northern communities, but the level of funding and long-term planning has rarely matched the real needs on the ground. Meanwhile, populations in many northern communities have continued to grow while housing construction has struggled to keep up with the extremely high cost of building in remote Arctic regions.
The reality is that building in places like Nunavut and the Northwest Territories can cost several times more than in southern Canada because of shipping materials, short construction seasons, and limited infrastructure. Without consistent and large-scale investment through programs managed by organizations like the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the gap between housing supply and demand has only grown. Today that gap shows up as overcrowded homes, long waitlists for public housing, and families sometimes forced to live with multiple generations under one roof.
Many northerners feel that development in the North has often been treated as an afterthought by southern governments. With so few seats representing the territories in Parliament, communities in the Arctic can struggle to get the same level of attention as larger southern cities. Now the consequences of those decisions—or lack of decisions—are becoming impossible to ignore.
And now we’re hearing more talk from Ottawa about protecting and strengthening the North, especially as global attention on the Arctic grows. But many people feel that if the federal government truly wants to protect the North, it should start by properly investing in the people who live there. Protecting the Arctic isn’t just about sovereignty or security—it’s also about making sure northern residents have adequate housing, strong infrastructure, and real economic opportunities. If Canada is serious about protecting the North, the time to act isn’t someday in the future—it’s now.
Well, having a Nunavut MP in the Liberal caucus is better for Nunavut than not having a member in the caucus. Nunavut is the shiny new thing in resources, security, and shipping. We need out MP’s to represent our interests at a Federal level in the rooms where these deals are being made. Hopefully Idlout is up for the challenge, but she is going to have to learn to make herself heard in those rooms, not wait to be asked.
You may think that way and Lori may think that way too and that’s fine. But other people may think differently and think that Lori would have a stronger voice holding the government to account from the NDP side. That’s the whole point on why we have elections so that everyone gets to have their say who wants to and who ever gets the most votes wins. So it’s not fair for you, Lori and whoever got Lori’s ear to decide this. There should be another election and let all voters decide whether they want their MP to be with a different party. It’s just democracy really.
With such a marginal majority I think the Liberals with pay heed to her advises. These coming Liberal years may be the best years yet for Nunavut so stop crying traitor; party politics are not that important yet to Nunavut, if party politics come to the Leg, we be in dire needs…