What may be less well known in the US about Belinda Stronach was that she was formerly a member of Canada's House of Commons in 2005.She was also in a common-law relationship with Peter MacKay, a high profile member of the Conservative Party in Canada. Here is an excerpt from the Globe and Mail dated May 19, 2005, regarding the end of their relationship:

"[i]On Monday night, Belinda Stronach ate dinner with her boyfriend Peter MacKay. Then, without saying where she was going, she popped over to 24 Sussex Dr. to talk with Prime Minister Paul Martin over another lavish, late meal.

Mr. MacKay, the deputy Conservative leader, made a brief appearance at a Tory fundraiser before heading home. He didn't know where she was, but when she returned to him in the wee hours, she made a confession that ripped out his heart: Ms. Stronach would cross the floor to the Liberals the next morning.

"She came back after midnight on Monday night," Mr. MacKay said at his father's farm yesterday, speaking publicly for the first time since Ms. Stronach defected to the Liberals. "She'd been at the Prime Minister's residence. I had no idea. . . . She hadn't told me anything about it."

"I was completely surprised," he said softly. "I knew she'd been troubled and had a lot on her mind, but I didn't see this coming. I didn't see it coming."

Until 8 o'clock in the morning, Mr. MacKay pleaded with his ambitious colleague and lover to abandon her plan to leave the Conservatives -- and by extension him -- just days before a crucial budget vote in the House of Commons. She left anyway[/i]."

Needless to say, Ms. Stronach is not known for her loyalty to any group or anyone.