The biggest mouth in Parliament – figuratively, we think – belongs to New Democrat Peter Julian.
The New Westminster, B.C. MP – his party’s energy and natural resources critic – spoke 226,027 words in the House of Commons last year, more than any other politician.
If you’re having trouble quantifying, that’s equivalent to as many found in Indian-born Canadian author Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance, the story of political turmoil in 1970s India.
We know all this thanks to the fine folks at Samara, a non-partisan charitable organization that works to improve political participation in Canada. They came up with the Canadian literary equivalents, too.
Number two mouthiest on the list is Winnipeg North Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux, who spoke a Conrad Black-esque number of words in 2012 (222,451, as many found in Black’s memoir A Matter of Principle.)
Rounding out the list is Green Party leader Elizabeth May, who piped up with 174,783 words – the amount found in Naomi Klein’s No Logo.
When it comes to leaders for the three main parties, former interim Liberal leader Bob Rae spoke the most.
Rae came in at 12th with 76,447 words, compared to NDP leader Tom Mulcair at 47th with 44,498, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, at 109th with 26,758 words, respectively.
Newly-minted Liberal leader Justin Trudeau spoke just 5,408 words in 2012, making him 262th out of the 302 MPs surveyed (several were recently elected or resigned last year.)
The quietest MPs? All Conservatives, including former Labrador cabinet minister Peter Penashue, up for re-election Monday.
Penashue spoke 977 words in the House last year (as many found in beloved children’s author Robert Munsch’s Jonathan Cleaned Up And Then He Heard A Sound), followed by Calgary West MP Rob Anders at 963 words (equivalent: M is for Maple), and Fredericton MP Keith Ashfield at 922 (the number found in Robert W. Service’s poem, The Cremation of Sam McGee).
For a full list, check here.
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