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Back in February, when the Liberals were a dozen points ahead of the NDP in the polls, Justin Trudeau held a news conference in Ottawa to announce a surprise star candidate: Conservative MP Eve Adams!

Adams said she could no longer put up with the mean-spirited, divisive leadership of Stephen Harper, and praised Trudeau and his “kind, generous and strong leadership.”

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Trudeau returned the favour, in what Andrew Coyne accurately described as a “crawlingly demeaning performance,” praising Adams’ “passion and commitment to her constituents,” behaving as if he had outfoxed his opponents.

But he had actually taken a huge problem off the hands of the Conservatives. Conservative campaign manager Jenni Byrne even sent a bouquet of flowers to Trudeau advisor Gerry Butts.

Adams and her spouse, former Harper aide Dimitri Soudas, had been caught cheating twice in an effort to get her a Conservative nomination. When party brass finally threw up their hands and disqualified her, suddenly she was next to Trudeau, saying she could no longer support the nasty Conservatives.