Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox Carney at Politics and the Pen, held at the Fairmont Château Laurier on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in support of Writers' Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Politics and the Pen welcomes Prime Minister Mark Carney to literary gala
For the first time in recent history, Politics and the Pen welcomed a sitting prime minister, and this one also happened to be an award-winning bestselling author.
Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox Carney arrived at the Fairmont Château Laurier just as guests were taking their seats for the formal dinner program. The evening would include the presentation of the $40,000 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing to Anglican priest Maggie Helwig for Encampment: Resistance, Grace, and an Unhoused Community.
Carney has attended the gala before, and even co-hosted it in 2013 with then-Conservative foreign affairs minister John Baird, when Carney was still governor of the Bank of Canada. The last sitting prime minister to attend was Paul Martin in 2004.
The prime minister’s presence added, in the words of Writers’ Trust of Canada executive director David Leonard, “a ton of excitement” to the evening. “It’s great to see that he recognizes how important the event is,” he said. “The whole point of the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize is putting political books in front of people who make decisions.”
Carney, who received a standing ovation when acknowledged from the stage, wrote the economics book Value(s): Building a Better World for All, published in 2021.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, seen receiving greetings and handshakes from fellow attendees at the Politics and the Pen literary gala. Photo by Lindsay Germano
Politics and the Pen remains one of the most sought-after gala tickets in the country, drawing politicians, writers and business leaders from across the ideological spectrum. Wednesday’s gala raised $460,000 for Writers’ Trust of Canada, which has distributed more than $7 million to Canadian writers over the past decade.
This year’s fundraiser was co-chaired by communications professional Heather Bradley and Hardave Birk of Rogers. Also on the organizing committee were Maureen Boyd (chair emerita of the Parliamentary Centre), Elizabeth Gray-Smith (president and lead strategist at Gray Smith Communications), Patrick Kennedy (principal at Earnscliffe Strategies), Dan Mader (founding partner of Loyalist Public Affairs), Rob Rosenfeld (vice president of public sector for People Corporation) and Alex Spence (senior manager of government relations at TD).
The cocktail reception was thick with conversation, leading organizers to call in a bagpiper to cut through the chatter and get everyone’s attention. Speaker of the House Francis Scarpaleggia attempted to restore order to a lively room but, in the end, it was Château Laurier general manager Geneviève Dumas who stepped up to the podium and successfully hushed the crowd into silence.
Former Conservative cabinet minister Lisa Raitt and former NDP MP Megan Leslie opened the program with a light-hearted video full of cameos and inside jokes that landed well with the Ottawa crowd. Raitt, who was recently appointed by the prime minister to the advisory committee on Canada-U.S. economic relations, is also vice-chair in the CEO’s office at CIBC, a major gala sponsor.
Co-emcees Evan Solomon — Canada’s first Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation — and Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman kept things light, with Solomon jokingly introducing her as “my new caucus member” from the “farm team.” It wasn’t lost on anyone that the last time a Conservative MP co-hosted Politics and the Pen, Chris d’Entremont ended up crossing the floor less than two months later.
From left, Politics and the Pen volunteer committee members Patrick Kennedy, Elizabeth Gray-Smith, Alex Spence, Rob Rosenfeld, Dan Mader, Maureen Boyd, Heather Bradley and Hardave Birk at this year’s literary gala, held at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman and Liberal MP Evan Solomon hosted this year’s Politics and the Pen literary gala held in support of Writers’ Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Former Conservative cabinet minister Lisa Raitt and Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, at the Politics and the Pen literary gala held in support of Writers’ Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, CIBC’s Alex Phillips, Amy South, Amber Batool and Chad Schella, associate vice president of government relations, at the Politics and the Pen literary gala held in support of Writers’ Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Writers’ Trust of Canada board chair Marla Lehberg and executive director David Leonard at the Politics and the Pen literary gala held at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, guest author Wayne Ng, journalist Chantal Hébert, who was also part of the jury for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, and Justice Minister and Attorney General Sean Fraser at the Politics and the Pen literary gala held at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Canadian Chamber of Commerce CEO Candace Laing and Bryan Detchou, senior director at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, at the Politics and the Pen literary gala held at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Fairmont Château Laurier general manager Geneviève Dumas successfully shushed the chatty crowd before dinner at the Politics and the Pen literary gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, communications leader Heather Bradley, former director of communications for the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons, and Hardave Birk, director of government relations at Rogers Communications, co-chaired this year’s Politics and the Pen gala in support of Writers’ Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Lantsman, the first openly lesbian and first Jewish woman elected as a Conservative MP, drew some of the night’s biggest laughs, joking she was more the “cunning linguist” than Solomon.
Solomon also brought out his acoustic guitar for a parody of floor-crossing politics set to Sweet Caroline, which lends itself well to audience participation.
The tone shifted to something more serious as Helwig accepted her award, presented by Melissa Cotton, who was representing sponsor CN. In the jury citation, Encampment, which was published by Coach House Books, was praised as “a necessary, on-the-ground view of Canada’s homelessness crisis,” offering “a clear-eyed call to not look away.”
After offering her thanks, Helwig reminded everyone that they were safe and dry while, outside, it was raining. “There are people sleeping out tonight in this rain. I have a deep responsibility to bring their voices into this room.”
From left, Maggie Helwig, author of Encampment: Resistance, Grace, and an Unhoused Community, accepted the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing from Melissa Cotton, director of government affairs at CN. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Helwig challenged the familiar political framing that leaders are powerless in the face of the economy, arguing instead that such forces are human-made. “Government does not exist to turn a profit but to meet human needs,” she said.
“To policymakers: when you make choices, think about the thousands of people sleeping out tonight in the rain, in alleyways and on heated grates. Think about my friends outside tonight … because they are your neighbours, because they are your children, because they. Are. Us.”
Other finalists included Don Gillmor’s On Oil, Brian Stewart’s On the Ground: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent, Ira Wells’ On Book Banning and Karin Wells’ Women Who Woke Up the Law.
This year’s jury was made up of Norma Dunning, Chantal Hébert and Paul Wells, who happens to be a cousin of finalist Ira Wells. “He’s the smarter Wells,” Paul joked, noting he recused himself from judging that entry.
From left, Andrew Cohen with fellow author and journalist Paul Wells, who was also part of the jury that decided this year’s winner of the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Liberal cabinet minister Evan Solomon had the audience singing along as he performed his own rewritten version of Sweet Caroline, tweaking the lyrics to poke fun at the recent spate of floor-crossings. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Ottawa-Vanier-Gloucester MP Mona Fortier, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in conversation with CTV News chief correspondent Vassy Kapelos at the Politics and the Pen literary gala in support of Writers’ Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Michel Liboiron, head of public policy and government relations in Canada forShopify; Jacob Glick, head of public policy for Amazon.ca; and Liberal MP Danielle Martin, who recently won the byelection in the Toronto riding of University—Rosedale, at Politics and the Pen. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Ottawa-based novelist and short story writer Elizabeth Hay and Ottawa-based historian and author Charlotte Gray were guest authors at the Politics and the Pen literary gala in support of Writers’ Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
It was a packed room in the Grand Ballroom of the Fairmont Château Laurier for Politics and the Pen, a literary gala that returned Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Yaroslav Baran, co-founder and principal at Pendulum Group, and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly at Politics and the Pen. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Power Corporation of Canada senior vice president Paul Genest, who’s also board chair of the National Gallery of Canada, alongside Ottawa Art Gallery board members Alik Angaladian (Maple Leaf Strategies), Michel Liboiron (Shopify) and board chair Mark Schaan, who’s also an associate deputy minister, at Politics and the Pen. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, representing the Ontario riding of Thornhill, and Liberal cabinet minister Evan Solomon hosted this year’s Politics and the Pen literary gala held in support of Writers’ Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Hugh Scott, executive director of strategic alliances for Innovative Medicines Canada, and Steven Hogue, director of international policy and communications for Pfizer, at Politics and the Pen. Photo by Caroline Phillips
One of the tactics for ushering Politics and the Pen attendees into the ballroom for dinner is to bring in a bagpiper. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Pascal Chan, vice president of strategic policy and supply chains at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and Sara Chown, co-owner and managing partner of Metropolitain Brasserie & Restaurant, at Politics and the Pen. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, British High Commissioner Rob Tinline with Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe — who’s also the author of four books — and his wife, Ginny Sutcliffe, at the Politics and the Pen literary gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing finalist Karin Wells, author of Women Who Woke Up the Law, and Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab at Politics and the Pen literary gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Evan Solomon — Canada’s first Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation — on stage during the Politics and the Pen literary gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Politics and the Pen attendee Anna Rumin with guest author Alice Switocz Goldbloom, author of Family Secrets: A Daughter’s Search for Her Parents’ Hidden War. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Michelle Chawla, director and CEO of Canada Council for the Arts, and Christa Dickenson, president and CEO of CPAC, at the Politics and the Pen literary gala in support of Writers’ Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Speaker of the House Francis Scarpaleggia had the job of getting the crowd to stop talking and sit down for the formal program at the Politics and the Pen literary gala. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Transport Minister Steven Mackinnon; Joanne Dobson, senior director of government relations at Air Canada, Rubicon Strategy executive vice president Elizabeth Roscoe, and Paul Genest, senior vice president of Power Corporation of Canada, at the Politics and the Pen literary gala in support of Writers’ Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Former Liberal cabinet minister Seamus O’Regan, now strategic counsel at Global Public Affairs, and former CBC journalist Hannah Thibedeau, executive communications officer at Global Public Affairs, at the Politics and the Pen literary gala, held at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman and Liberal MP Evan Solomon — Canada’s first Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation — hosted this year’s Politics and the Pen literary gala held in support of Writers’ Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Dagny Pawlak and Dan Mader, founding partner of Loyalist Public Affairs and a member of the organizing committee for Politics and the Pen, at the literary gala in support of Writers’ Trust of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips
This view of the ballroom at Politics and the Pen offers a glimpse of just how social the crowd is. Photo by Caroline Phillips
This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WEALTH (WCPD), Syntax Strategic, RBC, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, Welch LLP, and Brazeau Seller Law.
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