What it takes to get ahead in politics

MPs dole out pearls of wisdom they’ve learned the hard way

A STRONG FIST

“In the last election, the Liberal party was in third place up until the end. For three months, we were campaigning. All day, all I did was go door to door to door—I didn’t stop.

And every day I would get negative responses—a lot of them. But I thought, ‘What is sitting at home going to solve? At least I’m knocking on doors.’ That’s what my parents always taught me—never, ever give up. Keep on going.” Anju Dhillon (Que., Dorval–Lachine–LaSalle)

ALWAYS BE ON

“It is a 24-7 job. I mean, you can’t go to the grocery store without talking about work—you get stopped and asked about things.” Bernadette Jordan (N.S., South Shore–St. Margarets)

KNOW WHAT YOU WON’T DO

“When I go home at night, I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror and know that I did everything I could do and that I was true to those principles.” Jody Wilson-Raybould (B.C., Vancouver Granville)

STAND TALL

“You need to have steel in your spine, stand on your principles and not compromise on your values, always remembering that there is life after politics.” Kelly Block (Sask., Carlton Trail–Eagle Creek)

PLAY THE LONG GAME

“The most useful thing that prepared me for this job was being a competitive swimmer. You have to work really hard, you have to pace yourself, you have to have a long-term goal. There are short-term wins, but really, it’s the endgame. And right now, the election is the endgame—I don’t want us to lose everything we’ve done on climate change.” Catherine McKenna (Ont., Ottawa Centre)

LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

“Oh, I’m optimistic. Hey, honey, if I weren’t, I wouldn’t be a New Democrat.”

Irene Mathyssen (Ont., London–Fanshawe)

Anju Dhillon is the first Sikh MP and also the first South Asian to be elected to any of the three levels of government in Quebec. “Where there was a lot of misogyny, I’ve had to break barriers.”