Neither Victoria NDP MP Murray Rankin nor federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May came out on top in the annual Maclean’s magazine parliamentarian awards.
The award winners are chosen by members of Parliament, who nominate their peers across party lines. The winners were announced at a gala Monday in Ottawa.
B.C. NDP MP Nathan Cullen won as parliamentarian of the year.
Rankin, elected in 2012, was nominated along with Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland as hardest-working parliamentarian of the year. Freeland won.
Freeland oversaw, among other things, the U.S.-Canada negotiations leading to the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement.
May, who represents Saanich-Gulf Islands, was nominated as most knowledgeable MP. May quipped that she does carry around a lot of information in her head because she amends bills on every issue. She was beaten out by Conservative Pierre Poilievre.
May won the highest award, parliamentarian of the year, in 2012. In 2013, she won hardest working parliamentarian and in 2014 she won best orator.
NDP MPs Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan-Malahat-Langford) and Rachel Blaney (North Island-Powell River) were among top three in the “most collegial” category. The award went to Bloc Québécois MP Monique Pauzé.
Who won
• Parliamentarian of the year — Nathan Cullen, NDP
• Best represents constituents — Georgina Jolibois, NDP
• Best civic outreach — Terry Beech, Liberal
• Most collegial — Monique Pauzé, Bloc Québécois
• Best orator — Gérard Deltell, Conservative
• Hardest working — Chrystia Freeland, Liberal
• Best mentor — Judy Sgro, Liberal
• Rising star — Richard Martel, Conservative
• Most knowledgeable — Pierre Poilievre, Conservative
• Lifetime achievement — Paul Dewar, NDP
