Crossing the conservative Rubicon

November 11, 2025

By Bill Kilpatrick

Julius Ceasar made a choice to cross the river Rubicon on Jan 10, 49 B.C.E. effectively starting the Roman civil war. It was the beginning of the end for the Roman republic. Today the saying “crossing the Rubicon” is an idiom used to describe those who make a choice that they cannot undo, such as the recent choice by former Nova Scotia conservative MP Chris d’Entremont who crossed the floor of parliament to join the Liberals.

D’Entremont stated multiple reasons for his choice. According to a CBC article he stated that it was the “negative” attitude and the “ideals” of the opposition leader Pierre Poilievre that pushed him to make his choice. He went on to state, “…rather than knocking people down, we should try to find ways to work together, and that’s what I’ve always tried to do in my career.” In a later CBC article d’Entremont went further stating that the conservative party was being run like “a frat house rather than a serious political party.” He cited an incident where he claims that the conservative leadership “barged” into his office and started yelling at him and calling him a “snake” for thinking about crossing the floor. It was that behaviour that ultimately made the decision for him.

The conservative leadership deny d’Entremont’s version of events and claim that the meeting was calm and that d’Entremont is a “liar” who only left because of a “past disagreement over who should serve as deputy speaker of the House of Commons.” D’Entremont denied these allegations.

Then a couple days later after d’Entremont’s defection another conservative MP resigned his seat in Alberta. Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux stated in a CBC article that he was resigning to spend time with his family and that there was “no coercion involved” in his decision to resign.

Regardless, that’s two conservative MPs gone in a short span of time, bringing the Liberals that much closer to a majority government. This begs the question: What is going on in the conservative party? D’Entremont said that there were “three or four” other members considering crossing the floor after conversations occurred in the summer about Poilievre’s leadership style. According to CBC, former conservative campaign manager Jenni Byrne, who’s management style has been described as “toxic and angry,” was brought in to “quash any further floor crossings.”

I have some theories as to why this is happening. I’ve been following numerous Facebook pages that support Poilievre such as Pierre Poilievre for Prime Minister, Pierre Poilievre for PM, I Stand with Pierre Poilievre, and Pierre for Prime Minister, and there is no way to describe what I have found there other than “toxic and angry.” These pages are not for the faint of heart.

Given what’s on these Facebook pages I’m not surprised that d’Entremont crossed the floor. These Facebook pages are awash with conspiracy theories involving the World Economic Forum and the United Nations. They consistently have posts that are anti-vaccination, pro-51 state and pro Donald Trump. They are filled with rage baiting, xenophobic anti immigration tropes, anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion memes, Islamophobia, and are rabidly anti-liberal and the list goes on. They even go so far as to make the outrages claim that Prime Minister Carney, a former banker and head of an investment firm, is turning Canada into a communist country. I think I heard Karl Marx laughing in his grave.

One of the recent posts on the “I Stand With Pierre Poilievre” page stated that “Just a reminder Canada. America is not the enemy, the Liberal Party of Canada is.” A trope directly out of Trump’s play book mimicking his characterization of the democrats as criminals.

Yet another post on the Pierre Poilievre for Prime Minister page stated “Immigrating to Canada? Think twice… Canada is full, don’t come here” then the post called for “mass deportations and mass remigration now” along with pictorials that stated things like “F**k off. We’re full,” “Canada Needs mass deportation and mass remigration now,” and another post that shows people of colour in what appears to hijabs carrying Palestinian flags that stated simply “deport them all.” Another post on the same page characterized all Palestinians as “terrorists.” Anti-Islamic Posts such as these exploded in the days after the election of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, which in my mind shows the ideological connection between the racist alt-right MAGA movement in the United States and many members of the conservative party of Canada.

These are not posts that are happening once in a while, they are being posted daily and consistently. While these are not “official” pages of the Conservative party they certainly say a lot about the types of people that are being drawn to Poilievre’s leadership style. Toxic, angry, and racist is quickly becoming the new slogan for the Conservatives who have clearly crossed a Rubicon of their own. By taking back a leader that not only blew one of the biggest electoral leads in history and lost his own riding, the conservatives have shown that they really don’t care what Canadians think. The more they ignore the warning signs that their party’s leadership is no longer progressive but toxic, such as resignations and floor crossings, not to mention elections, the more they seal their own political fate.