Representing the Great White North: The Northern Ontario M.P.P. Experience By: Chelsea Peet 2008-2009 Intern Ontario Legislature Internship Programme (OLIP) 1303A Whitney Block, Queen’s Park Toronto, ON M7A 1A1 Word Count: 7, 951 Phone: 416-325-0040 Email:
[email protected] www.olip.ontla.on.ca Paper presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, Ottawa, Ontario, Wednesday, May 27th, 2009. Peet 2 Introduction “My great frustration is that people in southern Ontario don’t have a grasp of the size of the province. I often had difficulties getting other members of my own cabinet to fully appreciate how large the ridings and the province were. I used to carry around a little map I drew in my pocket so I could reference it for them.” – Lyn McLeod, former Liberal Leader, Fort William “There’s a bit of a romanticism of the north so that when northern MPPs try to address the challenges facing the north, like poverty and distances and industry, it can be hard to get people past the romantic notions to get them to realize the issues.” – Monique Smith, Nipissing “Being an MPP from the north, you’re actually “a somebody.” People know you, have met you more than once and have socialized with you. People feel like they have a more personal relationship and connection to their MPP in the north than is the case in southern Ontario.” –David Ramsay, Timiskaming-Cochrane “When I first came, there was a reporter here at Queen’s Park to report specifically on northern issues, a columnist, plus CBC radio reporters too.