The Backbench Top Ten

Our weekly, and wholly arbitrary, ranking of the ten most worthy, or at least entertaining, MPs, excluding the Prime Minister, cabinet members and party leaders. A celebration of all that is great and ridiculous about the House of Commons. Last week’s rankings appear in parentheses.

1. Maxime Bernier (1)
2. Jack Harris (3)
Still agitating for answers on the Afghan detainee file.
3. Michael Chong (2)
4. Scott Brison (5)
Referring to “glow sticks that now shine a light on Conservative wasteful spending” isn’t at all poetry. But at least it shows some effort.
5. Candice Hoeppner (4)
6. Daniel Paille (6)
7. Mark Holland (7)
8. Marc Garneau (-)
Quietly turning into a fairly solid and valuable presence on the Liberal side. Another of those Liberals (Holland, Coady, Kennedy, Oliphant, etc.) who perhaps benefits in the present situation from not having been a ranking member of a federal government.
9. Francine Lalonde (8)
10. Pat Martin (-)
His first question to Transport Minister Chuck Strahl employed the phrases “modern-day robber barons,” “asleep at the switch” and “making out like bandits.” Then he accused “the railway monopoly” of “sucking the lifeblood out of the prairie economy” and suggested it was all because a lobbyist was “darkening the towels” at the Prime Minister’s Office. We may often lament for Mr. Martin’s tone, but we will miss him when he’s gone.

Previous rankings: March 12. March 19. April 3. April 10. April 25. May 1. May 9. May 16. May 23. May 30. June 6. June 13. June 20. Sept. 26.