Organizers expect it to be a close race in one of this year’s most anticipated contests: the Cutest Pets on the Hill. Polls are open now for online voting until June 3.

“We absolutely expect a close race, and it will most definitely come down to the wire,” Eleanor Hawthorn, communications manager for the Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI), told Heard on the Hill last week.

Having received 57 submissions from parliamentarians, staffers, recent election candidates, and press gallery members, a panel of judges narrowed the ballot to 10 finalists each in both the Cutest Dog and Cutest Cat categories.

With Elections Canada busy with a bunch of official recounts in the latest vote for humans on the Hill, HOH asked Hawthorn whether CAHI is prepared for either a tie or a recount.

“While we don’t anticipate a tie, we would host a run-off byelection,” she explained. “As for a recount, we respect our democracy and would take any recount requests seriously, and if warranted, a recount procedure would be properly followed and overseen by a bipartisan judge.”

Meanwhile, it was no contest this year in the Other Pet category, as the lone contestant—Hiccup the Hamster—was acclaimed. 

Turns out Hiccup belongs to the family of The Hill Times’ editor Peter Mazereeuw. In his side hustle as Hiccup’s director of communications, Mazereeuw said: “Hiccup ran because some pet needed to. Her acclamation is proof that the skeptics were wrong, and a hamster can win the ‘Cutest Pets-Other’ category if it is prepared to put in the work.” 

“Hiccup will make sure that lovers of ‘other’ pets won’t be taken for granted on the Hill for the next year,” said Mazereeuw.

Hawthorn says this is the first acclamation in the contest’s three-year history, and that next year, CAHI aims to improve the diversity of the contestants. 

“We want to encourage people to be fun and creative,” she told HOH. “Whether it’s a farm pet, a frequent visitor, or a salamander who dresses up, all other pets are welcome,” said Hawthorn, recalling last year’s Other Pet winner was a friendly mallard duck named Bernard who decided to call the Métropolitan Brassiere home, and then there was Phillippa, “a turkey finalist who made the roof at the British High Commission building home,” said Hawthorn.

Canadians of all ages are encouraged to cast their votes online for the Hill’s cutest cats and dogs until June 3 when polls close. The winners will be celebrated at a pet-friendly reception at Ottawa’s Métropolitain Brasserie on June 4.

Recount cements Liberal win in Milton East–Halton Hills South, Ont.

Elections Canada announced the results of its official recount in the Toronto-area riding of Milton East–Halton Hills South on May 15, confirming that Liberal candidate Kristina Tesser Derksen won with 32,178 votes over Conservative challenger Parm Gill who received 32,157—a difference of 21 votes. Tesser Derksen gained 48.3 per cent of the vote, versus Gill’s 48.2 per cent.

“It is a profound honour to be elected as your MP. Let’s get to work!” former municipal councillor Tesser Derksen posted on X just after midnight on May 16.

Meanwhile, the results of a judicial recount are still pending in Terra Nova–The Peninsulas, N.L., where Liberal candidate Anthony Germain was leading by 12 votes over Conservative rival Jonathan Rowe. A recount in Windsor–Tecumseh–Lakeshore, Ont., is scheduled for May 20. In that contest, Liberal incumbent Irek Kusmierczyk was trailing Conservative candidate Kathy Borrelli by 77 votes.

A few updates from the Red Chamber

Both the Canadian Senators Group and the Progressive Senate Group each had an update to share last week.

Nova Scotia Senator Tony Ince joined the CSG on May 13. Appointed to the Senate on March 7 by then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, Ince is a former provincial cabinet minister, and the first Black man to take a seat in the Red Chamber since 2017. His membership brings the CSG up to 19 members—the second-largest group in the Senate.

Meanwhile, the 18-member PSG announced some leadership changes on May 14. Senator Brian Francis is now its leader, supported by Senator Judy White as deputy leader. Senator Amina Gerba is the new liaison, and Senator Tracy Muggli takes over as caucus chair.

‘Storyteller,’ ex-NDP staffer Salloum launches a website

Former longtime NDP staffer Anthony Salloum has launched a website so he can download his thoughts after a long career in politics.

“I had been thinking about this for some time,” he told HOH by email on May 15. “I was hoping to retire at the end of 2026, and this website was supposed to be my retirement project that provides a space to share my reflections and thoughts about my almost three decades in the party.” 

Until recently, Salloum had been the lobby co-ordinator for the NDP for the past 14 years. But with the party having lost recognized status and now no longer receiving funds for leadership offices, including a whip, Salloum’s retirement plans got fast-tracked. Just last November, he marked 25 years of working at the House of Commons.

“I’ve served this party for almost half its existence, so I’ve been witness to many positive, exciting—and not so positive or exciting—moments,” Salloum explained, hoping his collected observations will yield some insight into last 30 years of the federal NDP’s history. He calls this act of writing “cathartic.”

Salloum acknowledges the notion of launching a website in the world of Substacks and other trendy platforms may seem old-fashioned, joking that he’s not “cool enough for other ‘trendy’ platforms.” But for him, the medium isn’t the message; it’s the weekly content he’s creating that he hopes will resonate with readers.

“I have always been a storyteller, and this website allows me to put these stories in one place.” Learn more at anthonysalloum.ca.

Welcome to Hill Times‘ new deputy editor, Tessie Sanci

Meet Tessie Sanci, the new deputy editor for The Hill Times’ Monday edition. No stranger to Hill Times Publishing, Sanci has been the executive editor of Hill Times Health and The Lobby Monitor for many years, having first joined our Queen Street office in December 2017 to write for LM, and then not long after helped to midwife HTH in 2018.

Originally from Toronto, Sanci’s transition from our online team to the Monday print edition follows the recent departure of Stephen Jeffery who has returned to his native Australia after six years in Ottawa (fun fact: Sanci and Jeffery worked together at LM in 2021).

cleadlay@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times