Liberal MPs Marc Garneau, foreground, and Ken Dryden speak with the media after the party's strategy and tactics committee meeting on Parliament Hill on Tuesday. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Federal Liberals denied a report Tuesday that three of their party's MPs were interested in crossing the floor to join the Tories.

Liberal MPs Ken Dryden and Marc Garneau told reporters in Ottawa that the talk was Conservative mischief and an attempt to sow dissension in the party.

A report in the Toronto Star on Tuesday cited an anonymous Conservative government official, who said the party had discussions with three Liberals in the last month about crossing the floor.

Ruby Dhalla, the MP for the Ontario riding of Brampton-Springdale, was one of the names mentioned in the story.

Asked by CBC News if she was defecting, Dhala responded: "No."

She also said no Tories contacted her about crossing the floor, and she had never thought about defecting.

The Conservatives hold 143 seats in the 308-seat House of Commons and would need 12 more MPs to form a majority government.

Adding three members from another party wouldn't give the Conservatives a majority, but it would be another public relations blow for Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, who has seen his party's popularity decline in recent months and faced criticism for his handling of the appointment of a Liberal candidate in Quebec.

Ignatieff praises loyalty after Coderre resignation

Ignatieff spoke to the party's Quebec wing on Sunday about the importance of party loyalty, just days after the resignation of Denis Coderre, his chief organizer in the province.

"I've been touched and reinvigorated by the loyalty not solely to grassroots, which you saw this morning, but also the loyalty of my caucus both in the Senate and House," he said.

Coderre over the party's nomination of former cabinet minister Martin Cauchon ahead of his preferred candidate, business executive Nathalie Le Prohon.

Ignatieff has also faced criticism for attempting to bring the government down through a no-confidence vote last week even as his party's approval in polls declined.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government survived the Liberal no-confidence motion with help from the NDP, averting an election.

No-confidence vote defeated

The Liberal motion, supported by the Bloc Québécois, was defeated by a vote of 144 to 117 on Thursday after the NDP abstained.

The latest Strategic Counsel poll suggests the minority Conservatives have the backing of 41 per cent of respondents, while the Liberals have sunk to 28 per cent support.

Dryden said the polls would not change the Liberal strategy of voting against the Conservative government.

"We are using this time to set out the directions we believe matter and working on presenting that case to Canadians," he said.

With files from The Canadian Press