Paul Wells in conversation with Michelle Rempel

On Nov. 18, Maclean’s honoured the eighth annual Parliamentarians of the Year. Conservative MP Michelle Rempel was voted rising star. Check out the rest of the winners.

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel entered Parliament in 2011 and was immediately appointed to the post of Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment. Two years later, she was promoted to Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, having proven herself more than capable of handling her portfolio and holding her own during Question Period.

“It’s not a learning curve, it’s a learning cliff,” Rempel says. “There are so many different facets to being a parliamentarian, but then you add on the responsibility of cabinet committee, running a department—it’s been a lot of work.”

Rempel’s work ethic entails meticulous Question Period preparation, which allows her to speak without notes. Indeed, her QP style is largely credited with vaulting her into cabinet. And her confident, often combative, voice makes her Twitter account worth following. But she’s unlikely to again Tweet anything as widely noted as this message, sent when MPs were being kept inside guarded rooms in Parliament after the Oct. 22 shooting: “Mom, I’m okay. I’m in hiding.” Even in lockdown, Rempel is heard.

— Dale Smith