Crossing the floor: A look at some MPs who have joined other parties

Former Conservative MP Eve Adams (left) is joined by Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau as she announces in Ottawa that she is leaving the Conservative Party to join the Liberal Party of Canada, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. (Justin Tang / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -- Eve Adams is hardly the first politician to raise eyebrows by crossing the floor on Parliament Hill. Here are a few other high-profile examples:

Jack Horner

This Saskatchewan-born politician made his name as a staunch Conservative and equally virulent opponent of Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government. So colleagues were stunned when, in 1977, he joined Trudeau's ranks and was immediately granted a role in cabinet. Horner said his defection was caused by party leader Joe Clark's refusal to protect his Alberta riding of Crowfoot. The riding didn't appreciate the gesture -- they voted Horner out in the next election.

Lucien Bouchard

Bouchard, a one-time loyalist and friend of Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney, sparked a unity crisis in 1990 when he stormed out of a cabinet meeting during constitutional wrangling aimed at gaining Quebec's signature on the Constitution. He went on to form the sovereigntist Bloc Quebecois, lead the 1995 referendum campaign that came within a hair of breaking up the country and eventually become premier of Quebec

David Price and Diane St-Jacques

David Price and Diane St-Jacques were Quebec Tories who bolted to the Liberals on the same day in September 2000. Their defections were seen as a body blow to both party leader Joe Clark, who had just regained a seat in the House of Commons, and to their own political fortunes. The latter prediction proved false -- both went on to be re-elected as Liberals.

Scott Brison

The Nova Scotia MP raised eyebrows in 2003 when he left the newly merged Conservative party to join the Liberals. He's gone on to have a successful career as a Grit, holding a cabinet position under Paul Martin and currently serving as finance critic to leader Justin Trudeau.

Keith Martin

Martin came to Parliament Hill as a member of the Reform party in 1993 and, when it ultimately became part of the Canadian Alliance, made a bid for party leadership. In 2004, however, he crossed the floor to join the Liberals. He would win two more elections under the red banner and retired as a Liberal in 2011.

Belinda Stronach

In May 2005, then-Conservative MP Belinda Stronach famously abandoned her party in exchange for a cabinet position under then-Liberal prime minister Paul Martin. Her defection allowed Martin's minority government to win a key non-confidence vote and stay afloat until 2006. The switch also caused a dramatic end to her romance with current Justice Minister Peter MacKay. Stronach went on to be re-elected as a Liberal before leaving Parliament in 2008.

David Emerson

Emerson was first elected as a Liberal in Vancouver Kingsway in 2004 and served as industry minister under former prime minister Paul Martin. In 2006, just weeks after being re-elected, he shocked colleagues and constituents in his largely left-leaning riding by crossing the floor to join Stephen Harper's Conservatives. He served as minister of international trade and then foreign affairs before leaving politics in 2008.