Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome the latest addition to the Conservative caucus, the member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River. I congratulate him on his upset victory over yet another candidate who was hand-picked by the Leader of the Opposition.
Today on the Liberal ship known as the SS Titanic, the captain welcomes some new deckhands, all elected from safe Liberal seats. This does not hide the fact, however, that the Liberal Party has seen both its vote share and seat count shrink since the 2006 federal election.
Since 2006, the Conservative Party's vote share across nine byelections has gone up 4% while the Liberal Party's has gone down by 5.5%. That is a 10 point spread in favour of the Conservatives, a gain of three new seats for the Conservatives while the Liberals have lost six. These are the facts.
No amount of Liberal hot air and spin about the three latest devotees of the absentee opposition party, or the lifeboats they supposedly bring, can hide the fact that the Conservative government continues to grow in members and popularity with Canadians, while the Liberal Party continues its plunge into the depths of the icy ocean.
Now the Liberals have four captains to go down with the ship.