It’s barbecue season, and many MPs are back in their ridings, taking advantage of the House’s recess to connect with their communities—some are cycling for charity, others are attending rugby tournaments—but mostly, the parliamentarians are spending the warm months away from Ottawa, engaging with the constituents who voted them into office just a few months ago.
First-time Liberal MP Jessica Fancy-Landry, whose rural riding of South Shore-St. Margarets encompasses a large swathe of Nova Scotia’s southern shore, said she’s been spending the summer engaging with her community, emphasizing to The Hill Times that she wants to be a “constituency MP.”
“I want to be in my constituency, helping out everybody, more than I am in Ottawa,” she said. “Ottawa—it’s great, but people sometimes get locked into the glamour … but the real work happens in the constituency.”
Fancy-Landry, who was reached midway through a five-hour drive to her daughter’s rugby tournament in Fredericton, N.B., said her first summer as an elected official of the riding with a population of just over 79,000 has involved setting up her new constituency office in Bridgewater, the largest town in the region, as well as two other satellite offices in the riding.
She said she’s “absolutely loving it,” but stressed it’s been “a lot of hard work,” which some have described to her as “drinking from a fire hose.” But she explained that her focus has been on meeting with local and provincial government representatives.
“One of my goals as a first-time MP was, in the first six months, to have meetings with all three levels of government,” she said. “And I’m really proud to say that all of those meetings are booked, and I’m well over halfway through engaging with other representation.”
Fancy-Landry, who won her riding with 54.9 per cent of the vote, also said she’s been doing “lots of barbecuing” this summer. The MP took part in a “tub race” as part of the Dock Street Days festivities held in her riding, besting a local MLA in the contest, and calling the win a “huge highlight” of the season.
But Fancy-Landry stressed the summer is “all about balance” between work and family time—and is not a break. That’s something many MPs also made clear.
For four-time Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong, Ont.), who won her riding with 53.2 per cent of the vote in April, the summer is a mix of family time and work. The grandmother of four said these months constitute “beach time,” and an opportunity for her to “beach, pool, and barbecue with family and friends.”
The days are also filled with work and charity fundraising, she said. Gladu said she has spent time raising cash for the Huron House Boys Home this summer, a mental health centre for teenage boys that’s located in her southern Ontario riding that hosts a population of about 128,00 and borders Lake Huron. The 63-year old, who underwent a knee replacement in December, completed a seven-kilometre bike ride to raise funds for the charity last month.
Gladu is set to more than quadruple that distance in an upcoming Aug. 3 ride for the Gran Fondo Lake Huron, which raises money for the Saugeen Memorial Hospital Foundation, with funds being used to purchase medical equipment for the hospital.
“I started slow,” she said, explaining how she got back in the cycling seat, joking that she’s “gotta keep practicing” to prepare for her upcoming 30-km ride.
Like many MPs, Gladu also attended local Canada Day festivities, calling the Sarnia event a “heartwarming” day filled with food and pride. The MP also took part in the Sarnia Senior Cruise, a boat cruise for senior residents of the area that travels along the St. Clair River in June.
Green Leader Elizabeth May said she’s working “more than full time” both as an MP for her B.C. riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands but also as party leader.
“There’s a lot to be done in the aftermath of the election,” said the five-time MP, who secured her seat with 39.1 per cent of the vote, pointing to the party being dropped from the leadership debates as a sore spot, which she said cost the Greens visibility and support. “Obviously, the election results were very poor for us.”
Stampede, Pride top ‘barbecue circuit’ events for MPs
May said she makes a point to attend a number of events over the summer, like the Calgary Stampede and various Pride events held across the country. The leader made appearances at the Sidney event in her riding, which had a population of over 107,000 as of 2016, as well as at the Victoria celebration nearby. She also attended the larger Toronto festival, marching in the city’s June parade. She is also set to attend attend Vancouver’s Aug. 3 celebration.
When asked why she prioritizes Pride, May said the events are “celebratory” and “an expression of the progress Canada’s made … towards LGBTQ+ rights, which are under assault everywhere right now, even as we see corporate sponsorship withdraw.”
“I really want to be in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community,” she said, explaining that she also devotes much of her summertime to her constituents and working to resolve their issues with federal departments.
Like May, NDP MP Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, Alta.) attended Toronto Pride and the Calgary Stampede to take part in what she dubbed the “quote unquote barbecue circuit.” The three-time MP who took home 46.8 per cent of the vote in her 111,556 population riding, explained she’s also been spending her time in Edmonton tossing flapjacks, including as part of the Alberta NDP pancake breakfast.
“If you’re a politician in Canada and you haven’t flipped pancakes by now, you’re probably not doing it right,” she quipped.
McPherson also spent a few days visiting Alberta’s mountains, camping out in Lake Louise and visiting Upper Kananaskis Lake with her family. She is set to attend a number of upcoming festivals in Edmonton, noting that the summer in Canada is “pretty special,” and a time to enjoy given “what we endure during the other months of the year.”
Summer a ‘baptism by fire’ for rookie MPs
Conservative MP Andrew Lawton has also been spending his summer frequenting local events in Elgin-St. Thomas-London South, Ont., where he took the seat with 50.1 per cent of the vote. The rookie MP has been hopping around events held in the nine municipalities within his southern Ontario riding, which spans some of London and large areas south of the city.
“I’ve been spending the summer trying to meet as many people as I can,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to connect with the people I’m representing.”
Lawton kicked off his July “racing” across his riding and trying to attend as many Canada Day events as he could in his 112,448 person riding, starting with a parade in the small beach municipality of Port Burwell, which he said was “great fun.”
Lawton, who only spent a few weeks in the House as a rookie MP, said returning to the riding at the end of June was “like a baptism by fire in a lot of ways,” noting he was focused on setting up his constituency office but also putting in “face time” with residents.
Still, he said he was glad his new role gives him the opportunity to frequent local events, like the Pawsitively Elgin Dog Festival, which took place on July 19 and 20.
“I love what I do and I love the community I represent,” he said. “There’s so much going on, and it’s actually great that it’s my job to be a part of it, and to go to all of these festivals.”
But the summer hasn’t been just festivals and interacting with constituents for the first-time MP. Lawton has also been “working to support” Conservative MP Tamara Jansen’s (Cloverdale-Langley City, B.C.) private member’s bill, C-218, that he is co-sponsoring. The legislation seeks to amend the Criminal Code to disallow people with “mental disorder[s]” from accessing medical assistance in dying—something Lawton explained he has a personal stake in.
“That’s something that’s near and dear to my heart as someone who’s dealt with mental illness and someone who survived a rather serious suicide attempt 15 years ago,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me with their own stories, very interested in that issue.”
Liberal MP Jennifer McKelvie, who is also a first-time MP representing Ajax, Ont., is taking a similar approach to her summer with a local focus on events and stakeholders. The former city councillor who secured her win with 56.3 per cent of the vote recently attended the Durham Pride Parade, and spent her Canada Day alongside Liberal MPs Ryan Turnbull (Whitby, Ont.) and Juanita Nathan (Pickering—Brooklin, Ont.), with Turnbull holding a Canada Day barbecue at a park in Whitby. She also attended one of the Royal Canadian Legion’s Canada Day events.
She explained how a local councillor “tipped” her off that Ajax’s previous MP always brought a cake—a tradition she made sure to follow.
McKelvie also said her riding, which had a population of 126,666 as of the 2021 census, is home to a “really vibrant Indian and Tamil community,” explaining she’s attended several cultural events with music and dancing—two skills she confessed are not her strong suit.
“I usually joke that I can’t cook, I can’t dance, and I can’t sing, but I am always happy to enjoy the talents of others,” she joked in an interview.
Still, McKelvie said she’s “looking forward to getting back to work,” noting the government has made some “big promises,” which she said will require a lot of work in the coming months. The geoscientist turned politician will be on the House’s science and research committee, so she said she’ll be spending time “catching up” on the committee’s mandate and work before MPs are back on the Hill in September.
ewand@hilltimes.com
The Hill Times