When Mark Carney pulled off an improbable election win this year, he didn’t earn a majority in parliament. That means his government could fall at any time, but he came very close.

The Liberals won 169 seats, just three short of a 172 seat majority. In early November, Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont crossed the floor to join the Liberals. That got them to 170. Just now, Michael Ma (MP for Markham-Unionville) announced that he is switching from the Conservatives to the Liberals.

That gets them to 171, just one seat shy.

There are rumors they are courting others and if they get there, that will give Carney enough votes to survive another three years, at minimum. Even without that, now he just needs the support of one other voter to get any legislation passed.

This move will also raise the stakes in any future by-elections as that could flip the numbers.