The revelation that Nycole Turmel, the Official Opposition Leader, was once a card-carrying member of the Bloc Québécois is raising questions about how politically promiscuous our politicians are.
It's not as if switching parties is something new. In fact, it's part of British parliamentary tradition. Winston Churchill, who had switched from the Conservatives to the Liberals and then back again to the Conservatives, famously remarked: "Anyone can rat, but it takes a certain amount of ingenuity to re-rat."
But is it happening more? Is Ms. Turmel, the NDP's interim leader, part of a growing trend in Canadian politics?
Yes, political experts say.
"Over the past 20 years, Canadians have witnessed a greater likelihood of 'political swinging' from our politicians," said Nik Nanos, president of the national polling firm Nanos Research.
Mr. Nanos attributes this to "a direct result of changing party alignments."
"The emergence of the BQ and the Reform Party were the first to significantly shake up the landscape and loyalties to parties," he noted. "The decline of the BQ federally is the latest round of federal realignment, in this case, concentrated in the province of Quebec."
Tom Flanagan, the former chief strategist to Stephen Harper and now a political science professor at the University of Calgary, agrees, also citing "the ongoing realignment of political parties."
And there are many recent examples - the more right-wing conservatism of the Harper Tories drove MP Scott Brison and former MPs Belinda Stronach and Keith Martin to the Liberals.
Former Liberal cabinet minister David Emerson moved to the Harper Tories to become a cabinet minister. In the 2008 election, British Columbia Liberal MP Blair Wilson switched to Elizabeth May's Green Party.
Even Mr. Flanagan admits to having switched himself. In the past 25 years, he's supported four different parties - Progressive Conservative, Reform, Canadian Alliance and Conservative - but doesn't feel he's changed his views in any dramatic way.
"As parties rise, fall and even merge, some members may feel they no longer fit and may look for another identity," Mr. Flanagan told The Globe and Mail.
However, he concludes that as a "general phenomenon," he doesn't think party switching is a big problem.
"Considering the kaleidoscopic complexity of Canadian party politics, I don't think we have an inordinate number of cases of politicians changing parties," he said.
Rather, the issue, especially for the NDP, is that Ms. Turmel was a "Bloquiste until so recently," Mr. Flanagan said.
"Now we learn she was a separatist, or at least willing to make common cause with them. The issue is not changing parties per se; it's what you stand for."
Mr. Nanos believes this controversy is not a "significant problem" for the NDP in Quebec because "many Quebeckers themselves were former BQ supporters."
The risk is in how Ms. Turmel communicates NDP policy outside Quebec. If she is seen to be supporting pro-sovereignty policies, "it may sow the seeds of political discontent toward the NDP outside of Quebec," Mr. Nanos said.
Ms. Turmel needs to clarify her motives for leaving the Bloc to minimize the political danger, he said.
There are so many recent examples: the more right-wing conservatism adopted by the now Harper Tories drove MP Scott Brison and two former MPs, Belinda Stronach and Keith Martin, to the Liberals.
Former Liberal cabinet minister David Emerson moved to the Harper Tories to become a cabinet minister. In the 2008 election, British Columbia Tory MP Blair Wilson switched to Elizabeth May's Green Party.
We have seen moves from provincial parties to federal parties, including Bob Rae switching from the NDP to the Liberals and Jean Charest moving from the Progressive Conservatives to the Liberals in Quebec.
"Federal and provincial party names simply don't line up," he says, giving the example of the Jean Charest switch as "really a change of political identity."
Even Mr. Flanagan admits to having ratted himself. In the last 25 years, he's supported four different parties -- Progressive Conservative, Reform, Canadian Alliance and Conservative -- but doesn't feel he's changed his views in any dramatic way.
"As parties rise, fall, and even merge, some members may feel they no longer fit and may look for another identity," Mr. Flanagan told The Globe.
He noted that the story on the right has been one of the "rise of Reform/Canadian Alliance/merger with the Progressive Conservatives."
And the story on the left, he says, has been "the rise and decline of the BQ, emergence of the Greens, eclipse of the NDP in the 1990s and their recovery under Jack Layton."
However, Mr. Flanagan concludes that as a "general phenomenon" he doesn't think party switching is a big problem.
"Considering the kaleidoscopic complexity of Canadian party politics, I don't think we have an inordinate number of cases of politicians changing parties," he says.
Rather, the issue, especially for the NDP, is one of the beliefs of the interim leader and that she was a "Bloquiste until so recently," says Mr. Flanagan.
"It was bad enough that she represented public-sector unionism," he says, referring to her position as president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada and adding that unions are "not exactly a Canadian fav these days."
"Now we learn she was a separatist, or at least willing to make common cause with them. The issue it not changing parties per se; it's what you stand for," he says.
Editor's Note: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that Ms. Turmel had been a member of the Bloc for five years. Her membership lasted four years and one month. This version has been corrected.
Editor's Note: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that Blair Wilson was a Conservative MP before switching to Elizabeth May's Green Party. He was a Liberal. This version has been corrected.