In this interview on 610 CKTB, host Gene Valaitis and Jon Liedtke dissect the political bombshell of Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu joining the Liberal Party. The discussion centres around Liedtke’s latest OPED, titled “The Toaster Oven Turncoat“, & explores how a “dyed-in-the-wool” Conservative known for her fierce opposition to the Liberals—once famously warning that children would smoke cannabis out of toaster ovens—could make such a radical shift. Liedtke characterizes the move not as a genuine change of heart, but as a “leveraged buyout” orchestrated by Mark Carney to secure an elusive majority.
The interview highlights the intense backlash in Gladu’s riding of Sarnia, where she previously suggested that any floor-crosser should resign and face a by-election. Valaitis and Liedtke examine the hypocrisy of the current political landscape, noting that while Pierre Poilievre demands accountability, his own past voting record on by-elections complicates the narrative. From “pork barrel projects” to “federal magic beans,” the segment provides a cynical yet insightful look at the erosion of political integrity and the strategic maneuvers currently shaking the foundations of the CPC and the Liberal Party.
Transcript (Gemini Generated):
Gene Valaitis: All right. One of our great storytellers on the show is Jon Liedtke, he joins us this morning. And good morning.
Jon Liedtke: Good morning, Gene.
Gene Valaitis: Uh, interesting piece that you have just published on your website. You’re calling it “The Toaster Oven Turncoat.” So the Liberals are descending on Montreal today for their national convention. They’re bringing a lot of, I guess we could call it some interesting baggage with them. Uh, Jon, you’re looking at the floor crossing of Marilyn Gladu that nobody can figure out. Uh, but you’re not seeing a growth moment here. You’re calling it a leveraged buyout. What’s—what’s going on here?
Jon Liedtke: Yeah, you know, Gene, it’s—it’s so interesting. We’re looking at a political lobotomy first of all here with Marilyn Gladu. Someone who has spent over a decade building a brand in the industrial heartland as the adult in the room, as someone who’s STEM educated, obviously representing the oil and gas sector, a defender of it. But we saw a technocratic central banker, Mark Carney, performing a leveraged buyout of this political asset. He decided that his elusive majority was worth more than his base’s values, that minutia that we all like to pay attention to. Gladu is treating her constituents, her vote, and quite frankly, her own integrity as a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder packaged. She didn’t have a road to Damascus conversion on Liberal policy—let’s get real. She must have seen the polling that we’re all seeing about the CPC under Pierre Poilievre, saw an opening, and jumped ship before the Tories hit the rocks.
Gene Valaitis: Jon, she is a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative since 2015. She won her riding by 53% of the vote last year. Um, I’ve been—I played a clip on Valaitis on the News at 9:05 from Question Period a mere 14 days ago, where she suggested that the Liberal Prime Minister of Canada is corrupt, where she said “If you’re looking for corruption and if you’re looking for money, go no further than the Liberal Party,” and she went on and on. She’s a big supporter of the—the convoy, the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa a couple of—of years ago. I mean, she stabbed her constituents in the back. Oh, and by the way, on the subject of crossing the floor, in the past she has always said if you’re going to cross the floor, you need to have a by-election in your riding to see if your constit—constituents still support you. So, how do you explain this to the people of Sarnia?
Jon Liedtke: You don’t explain it to them, Gene, you can’t. You tell them that their vote has been packaged and sold for a handful of federal magic beans. She basically wrote a letter to her constituency admitting that this was a quid pro quo. She said explicitly in her letter that she’s joining the Carney Liberals because he’s a, quote, “serious leader” who she believes will deliver, quote, “projects” for the riding. Translation: I’m holding your representation hostage in exchange for pork barrel projects. She’s treating the voters of her riding like minority shareholders who just got wiped out in a backroom deal. You can’t spit in the eye of 53% of your neighbors and expect them to say thank you.
Gene Valaitis: Uh, you know, the title of your piece on your website is “The Toaster Oven.” Uh, take us back because, uh, I remember this, but some of our listeners may have forgotten.
Jon Liedtke: Oh, this goes back to 2016 when the Liberals were first talking about legalizing cannabis. She was one of the ones clutching her pearls in the House, terrified that children were going to start smoking weed out of toaster ovens, Gene. It was peak reefer madness 2.0. It was such theatrical ignorance it became a permanent fixture of the Canadian cannabis political parody. We still make fun of it today; she’s called “MP Toaster Bud.” But now she just has a different hue to the clothing she wears, I suppose. But, you know, guess what? By 2024, she changed her tune. She was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the medical cannabis sector, urging government to remove unfair taxes. Apparently, she finally got cool with toaster oven weed when she realized the donor class was willing to be donors. It’s a masterclass in Mastercard social conservative flexibility.
Gene Valaitis: Uh. You know, I think people have heard of hot knives, but—but not a toaster oven. Okay.
Jon Liedtke: Yeah, well, I hadn’t heard about it either, but I’ve been trying, Gene. I’ve been trying.
Gene Valaitis: You know, I—I have to feel for Pierre Poilievre. You know, he had the lead, he was supposed to be the next Prime Minister, everything fell apart. Um, and—you know my political deal, I’m still a political orphan, I—I don’t have a party. Um, but you know what? He is demanding that she resign and face a by-election just as she suggested about all floor crossers. Um, you know—I couldn’t agree more, but it’s not going to happen and our Prime Minister will likely have a majority government after the by-elections on—on Monday. Uh, sounds pretty hypocritical, kind of sounds like what you’re saying in your article as well.
Jon Liedtke: It’s—there’s enough hypocrisy here to go around for everyone, Gene. We can all grab a plate of it. Isn’t this the same Pierre Poilievre who voted against having mandatory by-elections? I mean, this is a guy who was perfectly fine with the lack of accountability when it served his interests. I mean, but let’s be honest. This—to have people who convert to the Church of Democratic Purity only when it serves their own interests or because the house is burning down—and let’s be honest, it is burning down right now. We just saw Toronto Star put out a piece saying that, and this was from inside the Conservative house, that 40 Conservative MPs are terrified that Poilievre is going to be costing them their seat. I mean, this is—you have Gladu, she was a leadership candidate for the Conservatives.
Gene Valaitis: I know! Yes!
Jon Liedtke: Like, there’s a lot of words I want to say out loud, but I’m biting my tongue right now. So I mean, this is just—it’s a masterclass in shredding any integrity that you have. Uh, but hey, it’s politics. Integrity need be left at the door.
Gene Valaitis: Uh, quick final couple of questions here. Is the Prime Minister putting winning ahead of values?
Jon Liedtke: Um, yeah, absolutely he’s putting winning ahead of values here. And that’s the biggest problem that we have here. I don’t know how you could possibly be a Liberal heading to the convention, the—the party right now in Montreal and looking at people in the face. I mean, she’s going to obviously be speaking tonight, I’d imagine, at the convention. Um, and how are you supposed to walk by her and rub shoulders and keep on a straight face? But I guess that’s what it’s supposed to be when you’re a dutiful member of a party.
Gene Valaitis: Yeah. Um, one other person here: Dolly Begum. She was a member of the Ontario legislature in the NDP party. She’s running in one of the Liberal by-elections on Monday after describing Liberals as untrustworthy, conniving, and the—the surest path to greater evil. I’m just wondering, does our Prime Minister—and I’ve asked this question already a couple of times this morning—does our Prime Minister have some bizarre Harry Potter sort of power that he can look into the eyes of Conservatives and just make them walk across the floor? It’s frightening. Maybe a magic wand or a potion?
Jon Liedtke: Well, I think it was Lisa MacLeod who said on one of the stations yesterday that he’s like the Pied Piper in that he can play a flute and everyone sort of follows him around. But don’t forget that the Pied Piper was the one leading a lot of rats at the end of the day here. It seems like he has that kind of mystique that Trudeau was able to have, but how well did that work out for Trudeau after a while? You know, quite frankly, it’s all a sham, Gene. A pox on all of their houses.
Gene Valaitis: Well, like I always say: same head, different socks. There you go. Thank you, Jon. Always a pleasure to have you on. There he goes, Jon Liedtke, publisher and broadcaster. Love his storytelling abilities.
This aired on 610 CKTB
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