The House is back, and Women on the Hill has a full house of its own at Fairmont Château Laurier

From left, Velma McColl, senior strategist and partner at Earnscliffe, and Enterprise Canada CEO Barbara Fox at Women on the Hill held on Émilie's Terrace at the Fairmont Château Laurier on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The House is back, and Women on the Hill has a full house of its own at Fairmont Château Laurier

Published On: September 25, 2026By Caroline Phillips

There may be more women working in and around Parliament Hill than ever before, but getting them all in one place can be like organizing the world’s most ambitious girls’ night out.

That’s part of the thinking behind Women on the Hill, an annual gathering that brings together women from politics, public affairs, diplomacy and business while MPs return to the House of Commons for the fall sitting.

Hundreds gathered Thursday night at the Fairmont Château Laurier’s garden-like Émilie’s Terrace overlooking some of the city’s best-known landmarks, including Parliament Hill. The women were shoulder to shoulder, in every sense possible. The place was absolutely packed.

Women on the Hill had 22 business sponsors supporting it, many of them women-led or with women well represented.

Representatives from the sponsors supporting Women on the Hill came together for a group shot at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier’s Émilie Terrace, where the event was held. Photo by Caroline Phillips

In recent years, the event has kept coming back to this outdoor venue. “We said, why wouldn’t we do it here on this patio?” said Velma McColl, a senior strategist and partner at Ottawa-based public affairs firm Earnscliffe. “There’s not enough parties on this patio.”

McColl is one of the collaborators behind the event, along with Enterprise Canada CEO Barbara Fox and Rubicon Strategy executive vice-president of public affairs Elizabeth Roscoe, the latter of whom couldn’t make it because she was off cycling in Europe.

When Fox was starting out in her career, there wasn’t much female representation in senior positions. “Now there is,” she added. “Many of our [company’s] senior leaders are women and it’s something that I’m very proud of. They’re good at what they do and they deserve the roles.”

Attendees included Canada’s Minister of Women and Gender Equality, Rechie Valdez, who made history as the first Filipino Canadian woman elected to Parliament. She represents the riding of Mississauga—Streetsville.

From left, Velma McColl, senior strategist and partner at Earnscliffe; Emily Haws, senior consultant, public affairs, at Enterprise Canada; Minister of Women and Gender Equality Rechie Valdez; Georgia Evans, senior public affairs consultant atEarnscliffe; and Maleeka Thomas, consultant at Counsel Public Affairs, at the Women on the Hill event held on Émilie’s Terrace at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The hotel’s general manager, Geneviève Dumas, who is the first woman to hold the job in the hotel’s 114-year-old history, greeted arrivals alongside her head of sales and marketing, Lori Wagner.

Seen making their way through the flower-framed entrance were former Conservative Senate leader Marjory LeBreton and her sister Kay Stanley. LeBreton, who spent decades working in federal politics, was excited to be there. “I think it’s just such a wonderful celebration of women, no matter what their political stripes are,” said LeBreton before reflecting on how much representation has improved since she started out. “When I think back to when I started working the Hill in the early ’60s and where we’ve come since, it’s phenomenal.”

LeBreton, 86, began at Progressive Conservative Party headquarters in 1962 before moving to the office of John Diefenbaker after he went from prime minister to opposition leader following the 1963 election. She was one of four secretaries in his office.

Speaking of trailblazers, Nancy Peckford, the first female mayor of the amalgamated municipality of North Grenville — which includes Kemptville — was also there. She’s already been acclaimed to a third four-year term, freeing her up to attend Women on the Hill rather than hit the campaign trail.

The event means a lot to Peckford, who is a former executive director of Equal Voice, a national, multi-partisan charity focused on improving gender representation in politics.

From left, Lori Wagner, director of sales and marketing at the Fairmont Château Laurier; Velma McColl, senior strategist and partner at Earnscliffe; and Geneviève Dumas, general manager of the Fairmont Château Laurier, at the Women on the Hill event, held on the hotel’s Émilie’s Terrace. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Danya Vered, vice-president at StrategyCorp; Natasha Commanda, strategist and partnerships coordinator at Emdash; and Caitlin Kealey, CEO at Emdash, at the Women on the Hill event, held on Émilie’s Terrace at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Kay Stanley and her sister, former senator Marjory LeBreton, who enjoyed a decades-long career in federal politics, at the Women on the Hill social gathering held on Émilie’s Terrace at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Amanda Galbraith, partner at Oyster Group; Globe and Mail senior political reporter Marieke Walsh, and Alik Angaladian, senior principal and strategic growth lead at Maple Leaf Strategies, at the Fairmont Château Laurier for the Women on the Hill event held on the hotel’s Émilie’s Terrace. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Bluesky Strategy Group co-founder and principal Susan Smith said one of the things she likes most about Women on the Hill is the mix of generations and experience in the room. “It’s a good opportunity for women — and men — to be in a space where they’re just connecting.”

And there were guys there, including Hull—Aylmer MP Greg Fergus, who said gender parity in politics matters to him personally. “I think it’s wrong when you’re making decisions that affect half the population and you’re not there.”

Others said the gathering was a reminder that even when women find themselves outnumbered, they are hardly alone. “When you’re often one of the only women in a meeting, it’s really nice to come here and be reminded that there are so many of us,” said Danya Vered, vice-president at StrategyCorp, board chair at the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, and past board chair at United Way East Ontario.

The community leader said she’s watched the event grow each year. “There are more women engaged with politics, more women having the right conversations with the right people, not trying to elbow our way in, but saying: this is us and this is our space,” said Vered.

Incidentally, Vered was to head this weekend with Alik Angaladian, senior principal and strategic growth lead at Maple Leaf Strategies, to acclaimed Restaurant Pearl Morissette in the Niagara region as part of a dinner for four they bought last year during a charity gala live auction. They were supporting Ottawa Salus, which provides supportive housing and other services for adults living with serious and chronic mental illness.

From left, Kathleen Walsh, lead public affairs counsellor at Compass Rose Group; Canadian Senator Kim Pate; Pam Damoff, CEO of The Pearson Centre and a former MP; Marci Surkes, managing director and chief strategy officer at Compass Rose Group; and Carly Kalish, CEO of Victim Services Toronto, at the Women on the Hill event, held on Émilie’s Terrace at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Liberal MP Greg Fergus (Hull—Aylmer) was among the 300-plus attendees of the Women on the Hill event held on the outdoor patio of the Fairmont Château Laurier on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Nicolle Arams, executive producer and parliamentary bureau chief at CPAC, and strategic communications and public affairs consultant Kathleen Monk at the Women on the Hill event, held on Émilie’s Terrace at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Velma McColl, senior strategist and partner at Earnscliffe; Ayan Dualeh, founder and president of the charitable organization Samawada, and Farah Mustafa, formerly with the Ottawa Food Bank but, more recently, with the Canadian Women’s Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Patricia Hidalgo Barr; Erin Clatney from DISH Catering and Parlour restaurant and event space; former journalist Joanne Chianello, who’s running for Kitchissippi Ward councillor, with her campaign field director, Darby Bohunicky; Mary Jo McMenamin; and the always animated Lara Van Loon (front right) at the Women on the Hill event, held on Émilie’s Terrace at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Anum Saeed, donor relations and events coordinator at Ottawa Community Housing Foundation, and Sophia Wojdak, public relations professional at Syntax Strategic, at the Women on the Hill event held on Émilie’s Terrace at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, María Fernanda Salazar Mejía, campaign director at Informed Perspectives; Shari Graydon, CEO of Informed Perspectives; and Nancy Peckford, mayor of North Grenville and former executive director of Equal Voice, at the Women on the Hill event held on the Fairmont Château Laurier’s Émilie’s Terrace. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, former NDP national president Anne McGrath and her sister, lawyer Gráinne McGrath, at the Women on the Hill event held on the Fairmont Château Laurier’s Émilie’s Terrace. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Joanna Keating, head of the Scottish Government’s office in Canada; Bluesky Strategy Group co-founder and principal Susan Smith, and Janice Nicholson, vice president, digital, at Bluesky Strategy Group at the Women on the Hill event held on the Fairmont Château Laurier’s Émilie’s Terrace. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, construction industry trailblazer Shirley Westeinde and Shari Graydon, CEO of Informed Perspectives, at the Women on the Hill event held on the Fairmont Château Laurier’s Émilie’s Terrace. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Women on the Hill returned to the Fairmont Château Laurier’s Émilie’s Terrace on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, bringing together women from politics, public affairs, diplomacy and business as MPs return to the House of Commons for the fall sitting. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Lisa Samson, principal at StrategyCorp; Danya Vered, vice-president at StrategyCorp; and Joanne Chianello, who previously worked for the firm as a senior advisor and is now running for a seat on Ottawa city council, at the Women on the Hill event held on the Fairmont Château Laurier’s Émilie’s Terrace. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Julie O’Driscoll, principal at GT, and Julie Vaux, executive director at Catalyst, picked a scenic spot for their conversation together at the Women on the Hill event held on the Fairmont Château Laurier’s Émilie’s Terrace. 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, Brazeau Seller Law, Westland Benefits and Ottawa Rapid FC.

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