Voters outraged: NDP MP's defection to Liberals

The Montreal Gazette:

Montreal - Voters in Lise St-Denis’s Shawinigan riding expressed outrage yesterday after learning that their New Democratic Party MP crossed the floor to join the Liberals.

“It is completely ridiculous,” said Pierre Huot, director of the student association at Collège Shawinigan. “If she wants to join the Liberals, she should run in a by-election.”

Eight months after being elected as part of the Orange Wave that swept Quebec, St- Denis announced Tuesday that her political leanings are more in line with the Liberals.

St-Denis acknowledged on Tuesday that her constituents voted for Jack Layton, but added “Jack Layton is dead.”

Huot said the comment shows “a lack of respect for a great man.”

The NDP received 39.1 per cent of the vote in the Saint-Maurice-Champlain riding in the last federal election, with the Liberals receiving only 11.9 per cent of the vote.

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