How effective can Wilson-Raybould and Philpott be as Independent MPs? The National's politics panel weighs in

When Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould announced earlier this week they were going to run as Independents, it started a conversation about just what that means and what an Independent might be able to do or not do for their constituents.

The former president of the Treasury Board and ex-justice minister resigned from cabinet inMarch and were kicked out of the Liberal Party caucus after they publicly raised concerns about political interference in the SNC-Lavalin affair.

I went on the CBCpodcast Front Burner to talk about their announcement and the challenges the twonow face as Independents: money, lack of party resources, an electoral system that doesn't really favour Independents, the list goes on.

It didn't go over well with all the listeners.Some of them felt I was being too dismissive of Independents.

One Twitter user explained his reasoning this way:

That got me to thinking, and we threw the question to At Issue, our weekly politicspanel on The National.

WATCH: Political commentators Chantal Hbertand Andrew Coyne andAaron Wherry of CBC's Parliament Hill bureau discusshow the inclusion of more Independents could affect Canada's political system:

How effective can two Independent MPs be? | At Issue

5 years ago

Duration 11:45

Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott will be running in the next federal election, but they're stepping away from party politics. So how effective can they be as Independents? And could this spark a larger movement? The At Issue panel breaks things down.