Beginning Sept. 29, 16 homebred Hanoverian horses that didn’t make the grade for the RCMP Musical Ride are seeking new roles in the private sector.

Hosted on GCSurplus—the federal government’s surplus auction site more commonly used for rehousing excess desks, books, computers, radios, or paint—the RCMP’s Online Horse Auction will run from Sept. 29 until Oct 7 and 8. 

Each horse will be featured with a photograph, video, and detailed description to help horse lovers find their best match.

While these equines won’t be dancing to music or carrying a Mountie dressed in red serge, they are nonetheless “highly sought-after horses” that are “excellent for dressage, show jumping and other equitation disciplines,” the RCMP wrote on its website.

The RCMP has been breeding its own horses for over 80 years, boasting a stable of “elegant, strong and even-tempered horses” at its Pakenham, Ont., farm, about an hour west of downtown Ottawa. The horses are trained to join the RCMP’s iconic Musical Ride as long as they meet the Mounties’ standards for size, colour, rideability and temperament. 

Horses that are sufficiently friendly, leggy, and black are trained to join the Musical Ride, a troop of 32 horse-and-rider teams that “promote the RCMP’s image in communities in Canada and around the world,” via their performances of highly choreographed formations and drills.

RCMP spokesperson Robin Percival was tight-lipped about most of the equines up for auction this year, but two horses have been promoted as a “sneak peek:” Baffin, a chestnut stallion born earlier this year, described as having “presence and potential;” and Sosi, a five-year-old Registered Hanoverian mare, standing 15.2-and-a-half hands high and “full of elegance and promise,” according to her listing.—Marlo Glass

Raymond B. Blake wins Shaughnessy Cohen Book Prize

In front of a crowd of 500 booklovers dressed in their black tie-finest, University of Regina professor Raymond B. Blake won the $40,000 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing for his book, Canada’s Prime Ministers and the Shaping of a National Identity, published by UBC Press. 

The gala event, hosted by the Writers’ Trust of Canada, took place at Ottawa’s iconic Château Laurier on Sept. 24. The prize was increased this year from $25,000 to $40,000.

The other nominees for this year’s prize were: Stephen Maher for The Prince: The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau (Simon & Schuster Canada); Jane Philpott for Health for All: A Doctor’s Prescription for a Healthier Canada (Signal); Tanya Talaga for The Knowing (HarperCollins Publishers); and Alasdair Roberts for The Adaptable Country: How Canada Can Survive the Twenty-First Century (McGill-Queen’s University Press).

Check out Cynthia Münster’s photos of the star-studded event on page 36.

Canada welcomes new envoys from India, Ukraine

India and Ukraine were among six new envoys who presented their credentials to Governor General Mary Simon at a Sept. 24 ceremony at Rideau Hall.

India’s new high commissioner to Canada Dinesh Kumar Patnaik succeeds Sanjay Kumar Verma who, along with five other diplomats, was recalled in a bilateral spat in October 2024 in which India sent six Canadian officials home, including our high commissioner. After India’s President Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed this past June to reinstate each other’s top diplomats, Canada appointed Christopher Cooter as high commissioner to New Delhi in late August.

Andrii Plakhotniuk takes over from Yulia Kovaliv whose term ended this past summer. Until recently, Plakhotniuk was Ukraine’s envoy to Sweden.

Also newly installed are Haiti’s new ambassador to Canada, Anthony Dessources  Belgium’s Karl Anthony Amadeus Dhaene, Norway’s Hanne Ulrichsen, and Serbia’s Stefan Tomašević.

MPs take on Commonwealth diplomats in friendly cricket game

Several Liberal and Conservative MPs left their political rivalries off the pitch to play cricket as Team Parliamentarians on the grounds of Rideau Hall on Sept. 23. 

On the opposing team were diplomats from Commonwealth countries and cricket advocates— who ultimately won the contest. 

The friendly tournament was followed by a reception where MPs, Senators, ambassadors and promoters of the sport wined and dined, and shared a few words to celebrate cricket in Canada. 

Liberal MP Iqra Khalid organized both events again this year to help the advocates pitch for more funding support and particularly to build a “home of student cricket” in Canada.

“We may not be from the same party, or the same countries, but we share common values as parliamentarians and officials from the commonwealth,” said fellow Liberal MP Alexandre Mendès, chair of the Canadian Branch of the Canadian Parliamentary Association, in her remarks at the start of the evening.

Secretary of State for Sports, Adam Van Koeverden, took part in the tournament, but missed the dinner. Spotted at that event were Conservative MP Brad Vis—who also played the game—his caucus colleague Tamara Jansen, and Bloc Québécois MP Marie-Hélène Gaudreau. Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali was also there, as were Liberal MPs Jaime Battiste, Tatiana Auguste, Jean Yip, Terry Duguid, Natilien Joseph, Gurbux Saini and Parm Bains.—Riddhi Kachhela

Senator Speaker, former MP and ex-Commons clerk all ‘knighted’

There are a few new “knights” in our midst as of last week as both the French Legion of Honour and the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie’s Ordre of the Pléiade inducted some new members at separate ceremonies in Ottawa.

Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagné received one of France’s highest honours, which was bestowed by France’s Ambassador to Canada Michel Miraillet on Sept. 25.

Two days prior, a former Liberal MP, a retired Parliamentary official, a former Quebec politician and a community activist were inducted as knights into the Ordre de la Pléiade on Sept. 23.

Liberal MP Marie-France Lalonde, who is chair of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) presented the decorations to her former colleague René Arseneault who was the Liberal MP for Madawaska—Restigouche, N.B., from 2015 to 2025 when he didn’t reoffer in this past election; André Gagnon, whose 31-year career as a House of Commons clerk ended in 2021 with his retirement; former Quebec Liberal MNA Karl Blackburn, and Agnès Mbome Moume, a cultural and community activist. Musician, composer and writer Édith Butler was promoted to the rank of commander at the ceremony.

The Pléiade, which honours achievement in the Francophonie and dialogue among cultures, has been awarded by the APF since 1976.

The Hill Times wins four awards at Canadian Community Newsmedia Awards

And now for a little Hill Times news: this newspaper has won a couple of awards in the 2025 Canadian Community Newsmedia Awards competition.

The Hill Times placed first in the categories of Best Editorial Page, and Best Local Cartoon (Circulation 10000 and over) for Michael de Adder’s sketch “‘That looks like my wallet’.”

The Hill Times also came in second in the categories of Best Feature Series, ‘Senate bill seeks to criminalize forced sterilizations’ by Laura Ryckewaert, and our columnist Rose LeMay placed second in the field of Outstanding Columnist.

Organized by News Media Canada, the Canadian Community Newsmedia Awards is a prestigious annual awards program featuring 30 unique categories honouring outstanding editorial, photography, multimedia and overall excellence in community newsmedia publishing. This year’s winners were selected by a team of 33 volunteer judges from 1,020 entries for work published in 2024.

cleadlay@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times