Home cooking on display

Federal politicians get taste of N.L. hospitality after ending up in wrong house

Some federal politicians got a taste of Newfoundland’s storied hospitality when they wandered into the wrong home and were invited to stay for refreshments.

Liberal MP Seamus O’regan said some cabinet ministers were heading to his home in St. John’s earlier this week.

They were in the city for a cabinet retreat with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

O’regan told a crowd at Memorial University that the ministers were heading to his home when they saw a house with people gathered inside and let themselves in, assuming it was O’regan’s.

It wasn’t.

The jig was up when someone at the house spotted a high-profile minister across the room.

“One of them recognized the Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan, and went ‘Oooohhhh,’ ” O’regan said, pointing his finger mimicking the house guest.

“And Harjit went, ‘This isn’t Seamus’s house?’ and they were like, ‘No, no he’s just four houses down the road. Come in — do you want a drink?’ ”

O’regan said the surprised homeowners gave the ministers his address and also a sense of what life is like in the province.

“They were floored. You know, I had all these grand designs and places I wanted to take them in order for them to have a feel of what it is to live in Newfoundland and Labrador and they got it! They all walked in and they just got it.”