“Everything is funny,” said Will Rogers, “as long as it’s happening to someone else.” After spending months as an Official Opposition punching bag, Bill Morneau might agree.

But in between the finance minister’s public ethics controversies, Conservative and NDP leadership contests and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau struggling to explain his vacation choices, there were a few funny moments in Canadian politics over 2017. Here’s our top ten list:

1. Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson’s ‘fewer than five’ comment



Mary Dawson issued a head scratcher of a statement in November. In an attempt to prove that her office was not at odds with Trudeau over how many cabinet ministers hold controlled assets indirectly, Dawson said that it was correct to state that there are fewer than five because, technically, there could be just one minister in that category.

“The Office did not wish to give an exact number when asked how many cabinet ministers indirectly hold controlled assets. The Office indicated fewer than five, giving a general sense of an upper limit to the number, meaning it could be one, two, three or four.”

2. A Liberal MP almost announced the budget date

A Liberal committee chair appeared to accidentally let the budget date slip at a meeting in February – although the finance minister’s office denied that it was the correct day.

“It’s our understanding that budget day is going to be March 21st,” Liberal MP Judy Sgro said, “so we’ll see what we learn and we’ll see where we go from there, but the infrastructure bank was on our list as well as our logistics …” She was interrupted mid-flow by Conservative MP Kelly Block: “You just announced that to the whole world.”

Sgro quickly corrected herself. “Oh my gosh, I’m sure I was wrong. Tell all your folks it was the wrong date.”

3. Kellie Leitch’s weird video

In February, Twitter users went crazy over Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch’s campaign video — her bizarre body language and strange pauses, and the odd choice of editing techniques.

4. Tory MP Marilyn Gladu talks about putting marijuana in a toaster

This isn’t what they mean by “nicely toasted.” During an evening debate on legalizing marijuana (specifically, on a time allocation motion to shorten debate), Marilyn Gladu actually suggested children will start treating their parents’ marijuana like Pop Tarts.

“Mr. Speaker, it is positively negligent that the government is shutting down debate on this topic. We have already established that this legislation would put marijuana in the hands of children, not just with the 15 joints that 12-year-olds can have but with the four plants per household, so little Johnny can put some in the toaster oven and smoke it up.”

5. A Liberal MP accused a Conservative MP of having a “stripper” ring tone

After hearing a standard ringtone that came with former Tory MP Dianne Watts’ phone, Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio cracked, “Where’s your pole to slide down on?” (On second thought, the only thing laughable in this is that Di Iorio actually thought he was being clever.)

6. Doug Ford and Jagmeet Singh go on a blind date

Former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh were featured on TVO’s Political Blind Date Series and the unlikely duo evidently bonded after Ford took Singh on a drive through the streetcar lane “disaster” on St. Clair Ave and Singh took Ford on a bike ride through downtown Toronto.

7. Andrew Scheer drinks from a milk carton at the press gallery dinner

Andrew Scheer got the most laughs and the biggest reaction at the press gallery dinner this year, delivering a nod to the dairy lobby that campaigned against Maxime Bernier in the Tory leadership race.

“I certainly don’t owe my leadership victory to anybody …” he said, stopping mid-sentence to take a swig of two per cent milk straight from the carton. “It’s a high quality drink, and it’s affordable too.”

8. Trudeau forgets Alberta

On Canada Day, Trudeau gave shoutouts to every province and territory on Parliament Hill Saturday – but he forgot Alberta.

“We may be of every colour and creed, from every corner of the world,” Trudeau said. “We may live in British Columbia, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia or Newfoundland and Labrador. But we embrace that diversity while knowing in our hearts that we are all Canadians.”

Shorty after, Trudeau apologized. “Let me just start by saying I’m a little embarrassed, I got excited somewhere over the Rockies,” he said.

9. Ezra Levant’s “hush money”

Chaos intensified at Rebel Media in August when a former contributor asked pointed questions about how the hard-right online outlet uses reader contributions — and founder Ezra Levant claimed in turn that he was being “blackmailed.”

The weird part: the contributor Caolan Robertson released portions of what he said was a conversation he had with Levant, in which Levant is allegedly heard saying the words “hush money.”

10. ‘Free the beer’ case goes before the Supreme Court

In 2012, Gerard Comeau, a retiree in Tracadie, New Brunswick, was tailed and ticketed for driving across the provincial border into Quebec, buying beer, and bringing it home.

New Brunswickers are only allowed to purchase 12 beers and only one bottle of wine or spirits from other provinces. When Comeau was pulled over in an RCMP sting operation, he was fined $292.00 and his 14 cases of beer and three bottles of spirits were confiscated.

Comeau fought back, arguing section 121 of the 1867 Constitution Act mandates free trade between the provinces, and won in provincial court.

Now, the decision has become a major Supreme Court of Canada case, with submissions from almost every province and territory, as well as interventions by those protesting or defending government monopoly control of goods — small wineries that sell online, craft brewers, cannabis dispensaries and dairy, chicken and pork marketing boards.