Ed Holder gets real — and I like it.

PMO PIc: Harper and Holder

There are 308 MPs in the House of Commons. I like a lot of them. On all sides. Most are “good people”.  The common denominator among the ones I like a lot are those that are — and Andrew Potter forgive me for using the term — authentic. They are comfortable in their own skin. They’re interested in other human beings for the simple reason that they find other human beings interesting — not  simply because there’s a chance those other human beings might vote for them or say something nice about them.

Ed Holder, the London West MP, (pictured above in 2011 with PM Harper at the Tim Horton’s Brier — and yes, this pic, was taken by a PMO photographer)  is one of those I like a lot for those reasons and here’s the latest evidence — Continue reading Ed Holder gets real — and I like it.

Ye Olde Finance Minister: Notes on Joe, Greg, and Ed

We have a new finance minister. And there’s no getting around it — he’s old. In fact, according to the Library of Parliament, no finance minister in our history has ever been as old as Joe Oliver upon taking up his duties as Finance minister. Oliver will be 74-years-old on May 20. He’s got a decent shot at being the oldest finance minister ever but the Conservatives would have to win  2015 general election and Oliver would have to be re-appointed as finance minister. The oldest finance minister in our history was also the one who served in the post the longest: Liberal William Stevens Fielding who, when he retired in 1925, was 76, 9 months and 10 days old. Continue reading Ye Olde Finance Minister: Notes on Joe, Greg, and Ed