OPINION: Municipal Experience in Canada’s 45th Parliament

As Canadians cast their votes and the makeup of the 45th Parliament begins to take shape, one emerging theme cuts across party lines—and yet has largely escaped national attention. While the spotlight tends to linger on party leaders, polling data, and shifting regional alliances, a quieter but potentially transformative trend is unfolding in the background: an infusion of municipal governance experience into the House of Commons.

Out of 343 ridings, more than 12 percent (46 to put that into a full number) of incoming Members of Parliament have served as mayors, councillors, wardens, or deputy mayors. That’s not a statistic to be brushed aside—it’s a signal that the often theoretical world of federal politics is being injected with a shot of pragmatic, hands-on experience.

No party has leaned more heavily on this municipal pipeline than the Liberals. With over two dozen MP-elect have prior experience in local government, the Liberal caucus may fast become a conduit between city hall and Parliament Hill.

Names like Gregor Robertson, former mayor of Vancouver, and Jennifer McKelvie, a respected Toronto councillor and deputy mayor, bring instant credibility—not just within the caucus, but also among the municipalities now grappling with national issues like housing, infrastructure, and public health.

From Rebecca Alty in Yellowknife to Bukley Belanger in Île-à-la-Crosse, the Liberal caucus includes mayors and councillors from both urban centres and remote communities. This isn’t just a token representation—it’s meaningful engagement from leaders who have worked within tight budgets, responded to local crises, and governed without the cushion of partisanship. After all, garbage still needs to be picked up whether a council leans left or right.

Ontario leads the charge with a wave of municipal alumni from communities like Toronto, Hamilton, Belleville, and Kingston. British Columbia, too, has stepped up, with Liberal candidates emerging from cities like Nanaimo, White Rock, and, of course, Vancouver.

Darren Fisher of Halifax and Guillaume Deschees-Theriault of rural Kedgwick, New Brunswick, remind us that this trend isn’t confined to big-city politics. From urban to rural, coast to coast, the Liberal caucus is full of leaders who understand the potholes of policymaking—both literal and metaphorical.

These new and returning MPs offer more than just experience; they bring a mindset. Municipal government demands accountability, adaptability, and a talent for coalition-building. In a minority Parliament especially, those traits could be game changers.

If the Liberals are building a bridge to municipalities through representation, the Conservatives are reinforcing theirs with experience.

Twenty Conservative MPs either elected or leading bring municipal credentials to the table. This group includes former councillors, deputy mayors, wardens, and no fewer than six mayors—a clear sign that this party values leaders who have tackled real-world problems head-on.

Take Fraser Tolmie, the former mayor of Moose Jaw, or Luc Berthold, once at the helm of Thetford Mines in Quebec. These are not politicians trained in the art of rhetoric—they’re decision-makers with scars to prove it. Budget shortfalls, infrastructure debates, snowplow contracts, and community policing—these are the challenges they’ve navigated in office.

Ontario once again takes a prominent role, with a robust Conservative lineup. Scott Aitchison served as both councillor and mayor of Huntsville. John Brassard and Doug Shipley cut their teeth in Barrie politics. Eric Duncan, as a former warden of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry, understands rural governance in a way few Ottawa insiders can.

Municipal experience also stretches westward. In British Columbia, Scott Anderson in Vernon and Chak Au in Richmond bring valuable perspectives from communities shaped by housing crunches, immigration, and climate-related challenges. Alberta’s Blaine Calkins and Kelly Diotte represent both urban and rural viewpoints from a province often skeptical of federal overreach.

In Quebec, Bernard Généreux and Luc Berthold offer not just experience, but resonance. In a province where local identity and governance are paramount, having former mayors in federal roles builds a crucial bridge between municipal autonomy and national policy.

The Conservative emphasis on affordability, services, and economic management finds a natural synergy with municipal governance. When potholes don’t get filled, when snow isn’t cleared, or when zoning rules stifle small businesses, constituents don’t want ideology—they want results. That’s exactly the sort of realism these MPs could bring t the 45th Parliament.

Now by comparison, the NDP enters the new Parliament with just two municipal veterans: Gord Johns and Jenny Kwan. But what the party lacks in volume, it compensates for in clarity of purpose.

Both Johns and Kwan have long embodied the NDP’s foundational commitment to grassroots democracy and working-class advocacy. Their backgrounds as city councillors—Johns in the District of Tofino and Kwan in Vancouver—position them not as fringe voices but as consistent advocates for practical, people-focused politics.

Municipal politics is often called “government of proximity” for aspiring legislators. There are no partisan talking points when a resident is demanding road repairs or access to clean drinking water.

For a party like the NDP—whose national platform revolves around service equity, climate action, and economic justice, having even a small cadre of leaders who’ve been in the trenches is invaluable.

It’s tempting to view federal politics as a separate realm entirely, concerned with trade agreements, military budgets, and international diplomacy. But increasingly, the issues defining Canadian life are those playing out on the streets: affordable housing, mental health and addiction services, and aging infrastructure. And these are precisely the issues that municipal leaders have been grappling with for years.

As Parliament returns to work within weeks or the next month, the integration of municipal voices into national debates offers a glimmer of hope in an otherwise gridlocked landscape. If harnessed correctly, these experiences can temper ideology with insight, turn debates into decisions, and ensure that federal policies are more than just words—they’re tools for tangible, local change.

For all our sakes, let’s hope the veterans of city hall find their voices heard on Parliament Hill. Canada needs them.