Liberal MP
On October 18, 2006, the Ontario members of the Conservative caucus voted to suspend Turner for what they claimed were violations of caucus confidentiality as published in his weblog. Within hours, Turner was dismissed from the Conservative Party caucus, and ultimately from the Conservative Party of Canada, by edict of the party's political leadership. The Conservative Party never furnished evidence of Turner's alleged breaches of confidentiality, while Turner argued Prime Minister Stephen Harper could not tolerate an independent-minded MP within his caucus.
On October 19, 2006, the Toronto Star reported that Turner was being courted to become the first ever Green Party of Canada member of Parliament. Turner praised Green leader Elizabeth May on his blog and campaigned for her in her bid to win a seat in the London by-election. According to Turner's weblog, his constituents were consulted over a number of weeks, and various options for action were considered: that he remain an independent Member of Parliament with no party affiliation; that he reconcile with the Conservative party; or that he join the Green Party. After a period of introspection and deliberation, on February 6, 2007 Turner surprised many observers by joining the Liberal Party caucus at the invitation of its leader, Stéphane Dion.
The Conservative Party has criticized this decision as contrary to Turner's often-declared principle of electoral accountability to voters. In response, Turner repeatedly offered to run in a by-election in his constituency of Halton, Ontario, should David Emerson and Wajid Khan (floor-crossing members in the Conservative caucus, each former Liberals) also run in by-elections in their constituencies held at the same time.
In the 2008 federal election, Turner ran unsuccessfully for the Liberal Party in Halton, being defeated by Conservative Lisa Raitt.
In April 2009, Turner published the book, "Sheeple: Caucus Confidential in Stephen Harper's Ottawa," through Key Porter Books. It is an account of his experiences within and without the caucus of the Conservative Party, and the clash between backroom-style politics and the open blogging Turner pioneered as a web-based MP.
Read more about this topic: Garth Turner
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