No. 16
April 10, 2026
Liberal National Convention
Montreal April 9-11
Evidence of Carney Government's "Pragmatic Realism"
Another Floor-Crossing Underscores Unrepresentative Nature
of Cartel Parties and Cartel Party Government
Liberal National Convention
Montreal, April 9-11
Evidence of Carney Government's
"Pragmatic Realism"
The
Liberal Party of Canada's National Convention is being held in Montreal
from Thursday, April 9 to Saturday, April 11. If the Liberal National
Convention has any
meaning to Canadians at all it is as a vulgar display of how Carney's
restructuring of the state
is completing the destruction of what are called Canada's democratic
institutions once and for
all. No Canadian or Quebec worker has ever believed that policy
objectives adopted at the
conventions of the cartel parties are worth the paper they are written
on. This Liberal
convention is no exception. On the contrary, the display of privilege,
power and false narratives flaunted there in the name of Carney's
"pragmatic realism" is a crude display of conceit -- of an unjustified
high opinion of his own abilities to make the people go away so that he
can get away with serving the narrow private interests unopposed. It is
clear to working people that Carney government does not address the
world as it is but as the murder of bankers, narrow private interests,
warmongers and their coterie believe it to be. This clearly reveals that
the working class must itself constitute the nation and lead the people
to create a system which opens Canada's path to progress. The
bourgeoisie has long since trampled the banner of the nation in the mud
and, today, with the adoption of extreme violence as the method of
sorting out problems, this is causing grave dangers for the peoples of
the world.
The crude display of power and privilege has an aim and that aim is to make sure not a single vestige remains of a system which can claim that governments of the rich in Canada rule with the consent of the people. Those whose happiness lies in currying favour with forces which support genocide abroad and trample in the mud the rights of the oppressed and vulnerable in this country, rights which belong to them by virtue of being human, are poor specimens of humankind as it strives for genuine peace, freedom and democracy.
What policies can Canadians and Quebeckers expect from the federal Liberal Party which could possibly justify the nation-wrecking, warmongering path the Carney Liberal government is implementing by restructuring the state at the behest of supranational narrow private interests?
This convention is being held at a time thousands of Canadians and Quebeckers have taken to the streets to denounce Canada's prevarication about the U.S./Israeli aggression against Iran as well as direct support for U.S./Israeli genocide in Gaza and genocidal aggression against Lebanon. They are deeply concerned about the militarization of the Arctic, the nation-wrecking projects which plunder Canada's resources to fuel the U.S. war machine. They oppose the destruction of Canada's Public Post Office and all the secret decisions, treaties and arrangements that governments use prerogative powers to enter into. Canadians and Quebeckers are demanding that Canada get out of NATO and NORAD and for Canada to be a Zone for Peace.
The people reject corruption, the program to pay the rich and the impunity of those in government when it comes to the surreptitious privatization of education, health care and social programs the people require. They oppose the laws that criminalize them and aim to silence them, such as Bill C-25 amending the Canada Elections Act, tabled on March 26, or the bills that give the government the power to eliminate all obstacles to the plundering of our resources, such as Bill C-15, the omnibus Budget Implementation Act, 2025, also passed on March 26, and so many other measures. They oppose the dishonest ways used to trample underfoot the hereditary and treaty rights of Indigenous Peoples by declaring that Indigenous businesses are legitimate interlocutors. The people want to have their say when it comes to the direction of the economy and all the decisions related to matters of war and peace, crime and punishment and the decision-making processes which have been usurped by supranational narrow private interests represented by the murder of bankers, corporate and financial interests the Carney Liberals are entrenching in positions of power and privilege. Carney's declaration that all people in office must espouse and be guided by the 19th century values of King and Country shows how reactionary as well as decadent he proposes Canada should be.
The Convention
Who all of this concerns is made amply clear by the fees required to attend the Convention. Last minute pricing for registration fees kicked in on March 30 and ranges from $249 for youth and Indigenous attendees to $1775 for observers, with special rates for those who belong to the Victory Fund or Laurier Club upper donor class. "Regular" attendees pay $999. The registration page informs that there is a free "LIB2026 Online Experience" for "Registered Liberals" to access "livestream of convention sessions," while "select sessions in breakout and training rooms will not be available to stream." Meanwhile, CPAC has a notice up for "complete coverage."
The program of the convention is categorized: "Convention Business; Commission
Meetings; Keynote Remarks; Featured Panels; Policy Workshops; Campaigning 101; and
Organizing and Readiness."
The convention will also elect the party's new National Board of Directors. Amendments to the constitution of the party are also on the agenda, without specifics as to what changes, if any, are being presented.
No biographies of the speakers listed in the program are provided, nor titles. For instance Diana Fox Carney appears for both the National Women's Liberal Commission and the Senior Liberals' Commission without any indication if she is the chair, or speaker or what; neither are ministers and Members of Parliament identified by title in the several featured panels where they are speaking.
Mιlanie Joly is a speaker in the session on Young Liberals.
One draft resolution to be presented at the convention reads: "that the Liberal Party of Canada urge the Government of Canada to create a National Rail Strategy that:
- Explores the feasibility of additional high-speed rail projects and regional passenger rail systems to improve national connectivity.
- Prioritizes investment in green rail infrastructure, including the electrification of railway lines and adoption of low-emission technologies.
- Ensures future rail development integrates with existing transportation networks to provide accessible and reliable mobility for Canadians."
Given the evidence of how a project that serves narrow private interests is being
railroaded through phoney public consultations on the Alto High Speed Rail Project slated to
be built from Quebec City to Toronto, this policy resolution shows just how fraudulent policy
conventions are as concerns purporting to express the interests of Canadians. The contempt
the private interests given control over the Alto High Speed Rail Project have shown for the
people, the social and natural environment, the use of public funds and much more, goes to
show that narrow private interests are preaching to the choir while media declare their
sermons represent what Canadians want.
Ministers and MPs are cycled and recycled to address topics which promote all the pet Liberal projects. Carney himself will address the Convention on Saturday at 2:00 pm. One of the sessions on Saturday is called "What It Takes to Win Close Races." Another is called "Organizing to Win in Small Towns and Rural Communities." Yet another is called "Empowering Canadians to Get Ahead." Proof of what the Liberals think it takes is provided in part by the fact that Carney government ministers and MPs are flooding the federal riding of Terrebonne before the April 13 by-election as part of their attempts to get a Liberal majority. The only thing missing in the entire proceedings is anything to do with measures even remotely related to the kind of Canada the people want.
Another Floor-Crossing Underscores Unrepresentative Nature of
Cartel Parties and Cartel Party Government
Advocate of Supranational Narrow Private
Interests and Extremist
Opponent of Sanity
and Conscience Joins Liberals
Marilyn Gladu, four-term Conservative Member of Parliament for Sarnia-Lampton-Bkejwanong crossed the floor to the Liberals on April 8, leaving the Carney Liberals one seat short of a majority. Gladu was first elected to Parliament in 2015. She is the fifth defector and fourth Conservative MP to defect since late 2025. The announcement has been met with outrage on social media, especially from her constituents who emphasize that their votes have been rendered meaningless.
The
Liberals now have 171 seats, one short of a majority. Political pundits
consider both Toronto ridings, Scarborough Southwest and
University-Rosedale, where by-elections will be held on April 13, to be
safe Liberal seats and if the Liberals win these as expected they would
have a majority plus
one in the House of Commons.
On January 11, Gladu publicly supported House of Commons petition e-7025 which called for "the House of Commons to amend the Parliament of Canada Act to require that any Member of Parliament who crosses the floor to join another registered political party must vacate their seat and trigger a by-election in their riding, while permitting them to sit as an independent without such a requirement." The petition is open for signatures until April 17 and currently has 66,483 signatures.
Gladu said at that time, "Really, the whole point of being an MP is to represent your constituents. So, if they're voting you in under one platform, for you to switch for whatever reasons, just seems to me to not be representing what you're supposed to be there to represent."
"Exactly," her constituents have responded, and many are calling for Gladu to resign so a by-election can be called. They are pointing out that their vote has no meaning, and condemning both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Gladu for this cynical manoeuvre.
Not four months later, Gladu now claims she is joining the Liberals because that is what her constituents want. Even the president of the local Conservative Board of Directors was not informed in advance of Gladu's decision.
It is also a fact that Gladu has been a very vocal critic of the Liberals in Parliament. In a statement representative of her views on the Liberals, speaking in the House of Commons on February 6, Gladu said: "Madam Speaker, Canada has lost over 5,000 automotive jobs and 32 paper mills have shut down. In my riding, three facilities are shutting down. As well, 51,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in the year since the Prime Minister took charge. He said he was going to 'build, baby, build' but the only thing he has built is the highest unemployment rate for youth we have seen in a generation.
"Will the Prime Minister do what he promised, build at a scale we have not seen in generations and work with Conservatives to restore Canada's sovereignty in the face of American threats?"
As recently as mid-March, Gladu was repeating the stock Conservative criticisms that Carney hadn't built anything since he was elected, that he had failed to get a deal on tariffs, that "murderers are walking the streets" and the Liberals are "soft on crime," that Carney wasn't acting fast enough to meet NATO targets on military spending, and so on.
Now we are to believe she has suddenly had an epiphany. "The past year has been like no other that Canada has ever faced, and I've heard clearly from constituents that you want serious leadership and a real plan to build a stronger and more independent Canadian economy," Gladu wrote in a letter to her constituents. "Today, there is both the opportunity and the responsibility to build our country's strength and success with a more constructive, collaborative approach."
Gladu, said to be a "social conservative," is in fact well-known as a vociferous extremist opponent of sanity and human conscience. In her home riding, she has been denounced for her enthusiasm for ethnic cleansing of Palestine and virulent opposition to Palestinian rights. The Sarnia Journal reported on July 25, 2025 that "Past remarks by Gladu have raised longstanding concern among human rights advocates. In a 2019 recorded meeting, Gladu said that "Palestine does not have any documented rights." She described Palestinians as "squatting on [Israeli] land."
As
a member of the Conservative Official Opposition, Gladu was critic for
civil liberties, gaining notoriety during the COVID-19 pandemic for
promoting unproven treatments such as hydroxychloroquine and for her
opposition to containment measures. She called for the military to be
brought in to
break up rail blockades standing with the Wet'suwet'en land defenders.
She was also known for voting against legislation for a ban on the use
of the broadly discredited and inhumane "conversion therapy." More
recently, she has taken exaggerated stands against Liberal legislation,
such as claiming
that Liberals supporting Bill C-9, the Combating Hate Act,
"think I should be in prison for quoting scriptures." Her Facebook
posts condemning the Liberals are rapidly being taken down but the
Hansard record can't be fixed, such as her recent opposition to the
Liberal government appealing
the Federal Court of Appeal's ruling that the Liberals' use of the Emergencies Act
violated the constitution. If the extremism and double-talk which comes
out of this woman's mouth is an example of the best and the brightest
women in top spots in industry then industry is indeed in poor
shape.
Carney's recruitment of Gladu is consistent with what the ruling circles praise as evidence of his "pragmatic realism." His is an alleged non-partisan sort of technocratic government for which he is amassing CEOs and senior executives for the restructuring of the state in the name of nation-building, security, prosperity, sovereignty, civilized values and more all of which are rendered meaningless because of his partisanship to nation-wrecking, militarization. and war preparations in concert with the U.S. war machine. The aim of his technocratic government is to destroy any vestiges of liberal democratic institutions in favour of the prerogative police powers of ministers and advisors and consultants recruited from private industry and banking concerns. There is no doubt that Gladu has been courted because of her career as a corporate executive in energy and petrochemical monopolies. It is these reactionary narrow private interests she is representing.
Gladu's Corporate History
Gladu was a professional engineer who held executive positions at Dow Chemical in Sarnia for 21 years, was engineering manager and then director of engineering at Calgary-based oil sands monopoly Suncor Energy, and finally held a consultant role at Worley (formerly WorleyParsons). Australia-based Worley describes itself as "the world's largest provider of engineering, project and asset management solutions in the energy, chemicals and resources sectors." Worley has pivoted heavily into technologies such as carbon capture and storage, electrification of older facilities, etc. Suncor recently partnered with Brookfield Properties in a $90 million redevelopment of the Suncor Energy Centre in downtown Calgary where the energy giant's headquarters are located. Dow and Brookfield have also partnered in recent years in billion-dollar investments for building infrastructure for circular plastics in the U.S. and Canada.
Each of these former employers has definite demands for handouts from the federal government. The Dow plant in Sarnia is an old facility, and not competitive with the new Dow "Path2Zero" plant in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta and those on the Gulf Coast. It would benefit from recognition of "trade exposed status" to receive special regulatory treatment, particularly regarding environmental and carbon pricing regulations, as well as federal pay-the-rich funding for low-carbon technologies. The new Dow plant in Alberta received $400 million in handouts from the federal government.
Suncor is part of the Pathways Alliance carbon capture and storage scheme which is demanding that the federal government increase its contribution to 75 per cent of the $16.5 billion cost of the facility in order to proceed. The deal between Alberta and the federal government on building new pipelines was said to be contingent on finalizing such a pay-the-rich agreement with the Pathways Alliance.
Worley's construction arm, WorleyParsonsCord was the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the TransMountain (TM) pipeline Edmonton terminal and 12 pump stations. TM is planning significant expansion of the line. Worley is also the main contractor for the BHP Jansen Potash Mine in Saskatchewan, along with many other projects across Canada and Quebec including LNG developments.
Speaking of her background, Mark Carney said Gladu has "tremendous experience" both as an engineer and an international business leader. "She's going to be a great member of our team. Lots of energy, ideas, advice on a wide range of issues including execution, getting things done," he told reporters. He added that "This all comes at a time when the country as a whole is uniting."
In an interview with CBC at the time of the first Conservative floor-crossings, Carney was asked if there was any criteria that would bar him from accepting a floor-crosser. He refused to answer, saying it was a "hypothetical question." With Gladu having been accepted into the boundless Liberal "Big Tent," he seems to have answered the question.
Going to the heart of the problem of these desertions and
floor-crossings in the parliament requires addressing the system in
which cartel parties of the rich come to power. It is a system designed
to keep the people out of power, and is in contempt of a modern
conception of democracy in which
the people must have a decisive role in governance. The manoeuvres of
the Carney Liberals to get their majority are cynical and, in the
opinion of many, give rise to a fraudulent self-serving majority. They
only serve to deepen the crisis of legitimacy and credibility in which
the system called a
representative democracy is mired.
(To access articles individually click on the black headline.)
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca