MacKay and Ambrose picked as sexiest, and Harper, Ignatieff, Rae voted best public speakers The 17th Annual Best-Dressed, Politically Savvy, Sexy Survey. By HARRIS MACLEOD, CYNTHIA MÜNSTER Published April 13, 2009

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After having his crown snatched last year by the bad boy of the Beauce, former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier, Defence Minister Peter MacKay is back on top as the sexiest male MP in Canada in The Hill Times' 17^th Annual Sexy Savvy, Best Dressed Survey.

Mr. MacKay (Central Nova, N.S.) had won the award for nine

consecutive years, but last year Mr. Bernier's snappy pinstripe suits, perma-tan, and a studly image helped along by a certain lady-friend, who wore a certain dress to his swearing-in to Cabinet in 2007, knocked Mr. MacKay down to second place. Mr. Bernier (Beauce, Que.) still has his suits, and his tan, but former girlfriend Julie Couillard, her dress, and his Cabinet limousine are long gone, and in this year's survey Mr. Bernier was not even able to hold onto runner-up status, which went to rookie-MP Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.).

The unscientific survey of 101 staffers, MPs, and politicos of all stripes was conducted over the last few weeks by The Hill Times, and of the respondents 46 were Conservatives, 33 were Liberals, 14 NDPs, seven were from the Bloc Québécois, and one Independent.

While some MPs like to play it coy about whether they pay attention to how they stack up on the list, the aforementioned Ms. Couillard wrote in her tell-all book last year that her former beau was "deeply upset" about losing to Mr. MacKay in 2007, and sought out style advice so that he might give Mr. MacKay a run for his money in 2008. While the fashion tips Mr. Bernier got were not enough to keep him in the top spot for sexiest, he did manage to win in the 'Best Dressed Male MP' category (Mr. MacKay came third).

Mr. MacKay's spokesman, Dan Dugas, said that while his boss appreciates the compliment, he doesn't take the poll "very seriously," and didn't want to comment. Though Mr. Dugas was kind enough to give HT a little insight into how the good minister stays so unflappably sexy.

"He buys off the rack [and] he runs regularly. If we have a 7 a.m. briefing, whether it's in Afghanistan or Antigonish, he's up running before the meeting [and] he works out most nights when his work day is done," said Mr. Dugas, who added that Mr. MacKay buys most of his clothes in Nova Scotia, of course.

For the 'Sexiest Female MP category' it was pretty much business as usual, with Labour Minister Rona Ambrose (Edmonton Spruce Grove, Alta.) snagging the top spot. Former beauty queens (seriously) Minister of State Status of Women Helena Guergis (Simcoe-Grey, Ont.), who a few Tory staffers referred to as "Gorgeous Guergis," and Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla (Brampton-Springdale, Ont.) tied for second place.

Ms. Dhalla came third in last year's poll, but it's possible that the national media attention, which included a demonstration of the 35-year-old MP's impressive dancing skills last month helped bump her up to second place. Ms. Dhalla, who also received the dubious honour of worst MP to work for, starred in a low budget Bollywood-style film in 2003, just before she became an MP. Ms. Dhalla is now taking legal action to block distribution of the DVD, called Kyon Kis Liye (Why? And for Whom?).

Ms. Dhalla, who also came second in the 'Best Dressed Female MP' category, told the media at the time that in promotional material the distributors of the DVD were "misrepresenting myself...they put my face on someone else's body, in clothes I never wore."

The new addition to the sexiest female MPs list was new NDP MP Megan Leslie (Halifax, N.S.), who came in third place. And unlike her sexy female MP counterparts, who all look like they could have been captain of the cheerleading squad in high school, the somewhat mischievous Ms. Leslie, 36, who was also voted fourth best-dressed, and came second in the hippest MP category, is no princess.

She spoke to The Hill Times from Halifax on Tuesday after spending the night on the HMCS Halifax, which is the first warship to be captained by a woman. Ms. Leslie said she hasn't been to the gym since the election campaign in the fall, and when asked for a tip on being sexy said "lip gloss." She said that sitting on the Conservative side of the House in a sea of "old guys in their black suits" she often gets comments about her colourful wardrobe, but they're not all positive.

"I actually had a minister, who shall remain nameless, come up to me in the House of Commons and reprimand me for something I was wearing. She told me that it wasn't appropriate for women to have bare arms in the House of Commons, so my tip for best dressed is definitely bare arms," said Ms. Leslie, who added that she checked and there are "no rules about bare arms" in the House of Commons.

Mr. Trudeau, who though being new to Parliament Hill had the obvious advantage of being a former prime minister's son, and media star before he was elected, was voted 'Hippest MP,' beating out Ms. Leslie and Liberal MP Scott Brison (Kings-Hants, N.S.), who tied for second.

"I'm flattered," said Mr. Trudeau, who despite a "profoundly unhip obsession" with the TV-show Myth Busters, thinks he was voted coolest MP because he's able to connect with young people.

"It's an angle I've worked hard to develop, that being involved and making a difference can be hip, and can be cool and I'm obviously pleased that people have responded that way. That and more than 155 votes will get my private member's motion passed," Mr. Trudeau said, referring to his private member's motion, M-299, that calls on the House Human Resources Committee to look at developing more volunteer opportunities for young people.

Mr. Trudeau came second behind Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez (Honoré-Mercier, Que.) in the best hair category; both he and Mr. Rodriguez recently cropped their shoulder-length hair, and Mr. Trudeau joked that if he hadn't he would have beat Mr. Rodriguez.

"I could have taken him if I hadn't cut my hair around Christmas time," Mr. Trudeau said. "His short hair is much more of a do than my short hair."

Mr. Rodriguez had lots to say about his "hat trick" win; this will be his third year in a row winning the best hair prize. "I'm wearing it shorter this year, just because I feel like it, just to change it up...I thought [this year] competition would be tougher," he said.

Mr. Rodriguez, who has gone to the same Montreal barber for the last 17 years, said that when he had his private member's bill in 2007 calling on the Conservative government to honour its commitments under the Kyoto protocol he vowed not to shave until it passed, and used to hassle then-environment minister John Baird about the state of his beard. The bill passed, and now he's growing his beard again.

Of this motley competition, which aside from Mr. Trudeau included Mr. Bernier and Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.), who tied for third place, he said they should keep trying.

"I want to thank my mother and father, who have a lot to do with this, and I tell my competition friends not to get discouraged and keep working hard."

The Hill Times

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