Ottawa

The finalists for the Maclean’s Parliamentarians of the Year Awards

The 12th annual Parliamentarians of the Year awards showcase the best and brightest MPs in the House of Commons, as voted on by their colleagues in the chamber

For 12 years, Maclean’s has asked MPs in Ottawa to take a few minutes to recognize the extraordinary work of their colleagues in every corner of the chamber. They fill out a survey with eight categories, writing in the name of the MP who, in their opinion, most deserves special recognition. We enlist an independent, Ottawa-based polling firm—Springbrook Strategies—that crunches the data. To ensure that parties with the most seats cannot dominate the list of winners, MPs benefit when they receive support from outside their own party.

This year’s lifetime achievement award winner is Jean Augustine, a Liberal MP from 1993-2006 who was the first African-Canadian woman elected to the House of Commons, and the first Black woman appointed to cabinet.

These are this year’s finalists in every category (listed in alphabetical order), including the best overall Parliamentarian of the Year, as chosen by 142 participating MPs. Most years, the winners are announced at an evening gala just a short walk from the Hill (sometimes delayed by parliamentary votes). This year, the winners will be named at a virtual ceremony hosted by CPAC’s Peter Van Dusen and in association with Gold Sponsor CWTA and Silver Sponsors BDC and CPAC on Jan. 12. Following the ceremony, the full list of winners will be released on macleans.ca.

Hardest working

Chrystia Freeland (Liberal)
Garnett Genuis (Conservative)
Michelle Rempel Garner (Conservative)

Best orator

Sean Fraser (Liberal)
Pierre Poilievre (Conservative)
Alain Therrien (Bloc Québécois)

Most collegial

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Bloc Québécois)
Marilyn Gladu (Conservative)
Christine Normandin (Bloc Québécois)

Most knowledgeable

Charlie Angus (NDP)
Kevin Lamoureux (Liberal)
Elizabeth May (Green)

Best represents constituents

Elizabeth May (Green)
Louis Plamondon (Bloc Québécois)
Shannon Stubbs (Conservative)

Rising star

Jenica Atwin (Green)
Raquel Dancho (Conservative)
Sean Fraser (Liberal)

Best mentor

Charlie Angus (NDP)
Wayne Easter (Liberal)
Louis Plamondon (Bloc Québécois)

Parliamentarian of the Year

Chrystia Freeland (Liberal)
Elizabeth May (Green)
Pierre Poilievre (Conservative)

Past winners

The Parliamentarians of the Year awards have evolved since the inaugural gala in 2006. Scroll down to see every winner, in every category, since the beginning.

Parliamentarian of the Year

2006: Ralph Goodale
2007: Bill Blaikie
2009: Jason Kenney
2010: John Baird
2011: Bob Rae
2012: Elizabeth May
2013: Peter Stoffer
2014: Irwin Cotler
2016: Tom Mulcair
2017: Garnett Genuis
2018: Nathan Cullen

Hardest working

2006: Paul Szabo
2007: Paul Szabo
2009: Paul Szabo
2010: Ted Menzies
2011: Jason Kenney
2012: Kirsty Duncan
2013: Elizabeth May
2014: Jason Kenney
2016: Rona Ambrose
2017: Kevin Lamoureux
2018: Chrystia Freeland

Most collegial

2006: Peter Stoffer
2007: Peter Stoffer
2009: Peter Stoffer
2010: Peter Stoffer
2011: Peter Stoffer
2012: Peter Stoffer
2013: Rodger Cuzner
2014: Peter Stoffer
2016: Marilyn Gladu
2017: Rodger Cuzner
2018: Monique Pauze

Rising star

2009: Megan Leslie
2010: Kelly Block
2011: Chris Alexander
2012: Michelle Rempel
2013: Chris Alexander
2014: Michelle Rempel
2016: Gerard Deltell
2017: Joel Lightbound
2018: Richard Martel

Best represents constituents

2007: Charlie Angus
2009: Bill Casey
2010: Robert Bouchard
2011: Michael Chong
2012: Niki Ashton
2013: Ted Hsu
2014: Brent Rathgeber
2016: Larry Bagnell
2017: Shannon Stubbs
2018: Georgina Jolibois

Best mentor

2017: Judy Sgro
2018: Judy Sgro

Best orator

2007: Michael Ignatieff
2009: Bob Rae
2010: Bob Rae
2011: John Baird
2012: Bob Rae
2013: John Baird
2014: Elizabeth May
2016: Nathan Cullen
2017: Nathan Cullen
2018: Gerard Deltell

Most knowledgeable

2006: Stephen Harper/Bill Blaikie
2007: Joe Comartin
2009: Joe Comartin
2010: Gilles Duceppe
2011: Joe Comartin
2012: Stephen Harper
2013: Jason Kenney
2014: Nathan Cullen
2016: Kevin Lamoureux
2017: Helene Laverdiere
2018: Pierre Poilievre

Lifetime achievement award

2011: Jack Layton
2012: Preston Manning
2013: Peter Milliken
2014: Flora MacDonald
2016*: Lloyd Axworthy
2016: Ed Broadbent
2017: Monique Begin
2018: Paul Dewar
2019*: Ethel Blondin-Andrew

Best civic outreach (discontinued after 2018)

2017: Scott Reid
2018: Terry Beech


EDITOR’S NOTE: Lloyd Axworthy and Ethel Blondin-Andrew both received their awards at special “Welcome to the Hill” events in 2016 and 2019, respectively.

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