Below, a brief history of the Canadian practice of floor crossing, and why it may not be the democracy-strangling power play that its detractors contend. Note: This story is deeply indebted to the nameless political nerds who painstakingly compiled a Wikipedia list of Canadian floor crossers. But most of the time, constituents will dearly punish their representatives for crossing the floor. “Crossing the floor to sit with another party while in office is an unlikely and increasingly costly manoeuvre for Canadian MPs,” the study concludes. Failed leadership contenders are at particularly high risk to cross the floorThe next time a major party holds a leadership election, there’s a good chance that at least one of the contenders has a floor crossing in their future.

Source: National Post September 18, 2018 20:15 UTC