Cheating was yesterday’s word of the day in the House of Commons.  As is his wont, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair pre-accused the government of that very indiscretion in some future election. Mulcair’s outburst didn’t do much for decorum in the chamber, nor did he advance the debate on electoral reform that’s held parliamentarians’ attention for so many weeks. But it did give a hint at which topics the NDP may pursue this afternoon.

Surely, after making such a show of things, the party won’t move off Democratic Reform Minister Pierre Poilievre’s bill to change Canada’s election laws—even if it is all a lost cause, as NDP MP Craig Scott partially admitted to a Hill Times reporter.

The Liberals are dead-set on setting several parliamentary records: most mentions of The Middle Class in a single Question Period; most consecutive questions about The Middle Class; and, importantly, most questions about The Middle Class between federal elections. Colleague John Geddes fact-checked Justin Trudeau’s grave claims about income trends, but nothing will stop the red corner from going for middle-income gold.

Maclean’s is your home for the daily political theatre that is Question Period, when MPs trade barbs and take names for 45 minutes every day. If you’ve never watched, check out our primer, which we produced with J-Source. Today, QP runs from 2:15 p.m. until just past 3. We tell you who to watch, we stream it live, and we liveblog all the action. The whole thing only matters if you participate. Chime in on Twitter with #QP.

HOT SEAT Pierre Poilievre, on electoral reform. Various alleged abandoners of the middle class, on Liberal questions about the middle class.

HOT TOPICS Electoral reform Job bank ads Jim Flaherty’s future PMO expenses

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