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The Liberals’ newest MP, Matt Jeneroux, will join Prime Minister Mark Carney on his business trip to India, Australia and Japan later this week.
The longtime Alberta Conservative announced last week he was crossing the floor to join the governing party, just months after he said he planned to leave politics altogether.
In announcing Jeneroux’s move, Carney also appointed him as special adviser on economic and security partnerships.
The Edmonton Riverbend MP now finds himself vaulted to the delegation travelling with Carney on his latest travels abroad, this time with stops in Mumbai, New Delhi, Sydney, Canberra and Tokyo.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Defence Minister David McGuinty and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu, as well as New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, will be on the India leg of the trip.
A smaller group, including Jeneroux, is staying on for the Australia and Tokyo portion.
Jeneroux is the third Conservative the Liberals have successfully poached in recent months, starting with Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont in November and Toronto-area MP Michael Ma in December.
Ma was included in Carney’s trip to Beijing and Qatar earlier this year, not long after he crossed the floor.
Jeneroux hasn’t taken reporters’ questions since leaving Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives, but in a statement last week, he said he decided to cross the floor after reflecting “on the gravity of the moment that our country is living through.”
Months after announcing he was leaving politics, Alberta Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux has crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus. CBC’s Cat Tunney answers some of your questions about the defection.
In November, it was widely believed Jeneroux was considering defecting to government benches and had even met with Carney, but he appeared to put that speculation to bed when he abruptly announced his plans to retire from federal politics.
Carney and his delegation leave Thursday.
He will first touch down in Mumbai for talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business leaders.
During a stop in the Australian capital, Carney will address both houses of that country’s Parliament — the first time a Canadian prime minister has done so in 20 years.
Carney has made reducing Canada’s reliance on the United States a key part of his platform, and is heading to the Indo-Pacific region to discuss trade.
