The Strange Defection of Leona Alleslev

Until I saw her angry face on TV, with Andrew Scheer smirking in the background, I must admit I had never heard of Leona Alleslev.

So I was surprised to learn she was a Liberal MP who had just defected to the Conservatives. 

Ontario MP Leona Alleslev is crossing the floor from the Liberals to join the Conservative party caucus — the first such loss for the governing party since the last election.

And the more I learned about her the more surprised I became.


For there she was barely two months ago, welcoming the Prime Minister to her riding and claiming she was proud to be on his team.

And her explanation for that happy scene struck me as somewhat dubious.

In a subsequent interview with CBC's Power & Politics, Alleslev tried to downplay her tweet praising the Liberal government, saying she was simply welcoming Trudeau to her riding — as she would any prime minister. By "proud to be part of the team," she said, she merely meant to say she was proud to "be part of the country."

Or somewhat fraudulent.

Just like this absurd statement:

"My attempts to raise my concerns with this government were met with silence," Alleslev said in a speech in the House of Commons announcing her move. "It's my duty to stand and be counted. Our country is at risk. The government must be challenged openly and publicly. 

 "To my Liberal colleagues, thank you. But my oath is to country, not party and my sacred obligation is to serve my constituents."

When she is the one who betrayed her "sacred obligation" to the people who voted for her.

So what really happened?

Some pundits claim it's because her riding is usually a Con riding, and since Doug Ford did very well there, she could see the writing on the wall.

Which I think is a mistake, because the way Ford is behaving I believe will make many people in that riding vote for anyone but the Cons...



So I have to believe that this is the real reason Alleslev defected.

Alleslev previously served as a parliamentary secretary to the minister of Public Services and Procurement between November 2015 and January 2017. She was replaced by Quebec MP Steven MacKinnon, a former national director of the Liberal Party.

She was dumped as a parliamentary secretary, and she's bitter.

And if that is the reason Alleslev betrayed all those who voted Liberal in her riding, it couldn't be more selfish and pathetic.

And what makes it even more pathetic is that as a woman she is defecting to a party with a religious fanatic as a leader, and a sordid record of misogyny...



A party of reactionary old white men, where female MPs are treated as second class citizens, and women's rights are seen as something to hee haw over.

If Alleslev is too dumb to realize that now, she soon will...



For betraying her constituents and the women of this country, she will deserve the full measure of the contempt she is sure to receive.

And when the election arrives, she will go down to Con hell with the rest of them...