Looming election triggering party defections, experts say - Globe and Mail

[Screaming Lord Byron]

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OTTAWA -- The Liberals' loss yesterday of MP John Bryden marks federal politics' latest round of musical chairs in the weeks preceding an expected election call, and the game isn't expected to end any time soon.

Mr. Bryden, who has represented the Ontario riding of Ancaster-Dundas-Aldershot since 1993, announced yesterday that he is quitting the Liberal Party and plans to talk to the Conservatives about joining their ranks.

Mr. Bryden became the ninth MP to leave his party caucus since December, when the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives officially merged. He blamed Prime Minister Paul Martin for much of the backbench malaise that triggered his departure.

Former Liberal-turned-Bloc-Québécois MP Jean Lapierre, has said that he plans to make another run for Parliament, returning to the Liberal fold.

Nelson Wiseman, a political scientist at the University of Toronto, said the last few months have seen the most interparty movement since at least 1974, when parties became eligible to register officially.