Five for fighting

You new senators are Bob Runciman, Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, Vim Kochhar, Elizabeth Marshall, and Rose-May Poirier. Runciman, for one, has already proven a valuable member of the team.

In 1985, opposition leader Bob Runciman was part of Frank Miller’s minority government. He recalls Rae was instrumental in engineering the Tories’ downfall. Miller was in a weaker position than Stephen Harper, because the Liberals had won slightly more of the popular vote and Miller’s margin of victory was only four seats. The NDP -- with Rae as leader -- held the balance of power...

As last week’s parliamentary shenanigans unfolded, Runciman got in touch with his Conservative colleagues on Parliament Hill to give them the benefit of his experience. "I immediately sent my friends at the federal level my encouragement to prorogue the House, because one of the mistakes we made was not resisting," he said.