Around Town: Calling all kids of former PMs to Politics and Pen dinner

Catherine Clark showed up. So did Ben Mulroney. All that was missing was Justin Trudeau, who was too busy being prime minister of Canada to make it to the Politics and Pen dinner, held Wednesday at the Fairmont Château Laurier.

Clark and Mulroney, both children of former PMs (as is Trudeau), co-hosted the sold-out literary benefit, which raised more than $365,000 for The Writers’ Trust of Canada.

The schmoozy evening attracted an illustrious crew of politicians, business executives and corporate sponsors, Canadian authors, big-name journalists and foreign diplomats. Among the household names spotted in the crowd were former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz and CBC news anchor Peter Mansbridge.

Liberal MP Kim Rudd with Orleans MP and Chief Government Whip Andrew Leslie (on his cell phone) at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers’ Trust of Canada.

The dinner was organized by a committee of volunteers led by government relations professional Patrick Kennedy and Jill Scheer, wife of Conservative MP Andrew Scheer.
On stage, accompanied by the cheesy ’80s tune Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, Clark and Mulroney jokingly announced the launch of their bids for the NDP’s vacant leadership position. And why not? Great hair, a pretty face and a political pedigree worked for Trudeau, or so went the joke.

Jill Scheer, wife of Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, and Patrick Kennedy, Principal at The Earnscliffe Strategy Group, headed up the organizing committee for this year’s Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers’ Trust of Canada.

They each rattled off a tongue-in-cheek list of promises to the 500-person crowd. Clark vowed, if elected, to let her husband keep his last name (a nod to the scandal her mother Maureen McTeer created for holding on to her surname). Said Mulroney, in his attempt to one-up potential leader Avi Lewis: “I don’t want to just leave the oil in the ground; I want to take the oil that’s already out and put it back in.”

From left, veteran political journalist Robert Fife with Senator David Smith and author, professor and Citizen columnist Andrew Cohen at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers’ Trust of Canada.

Later that evening, Globe and Mail journalist John Ibbitson was named winner of the $25,000 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, for his biography on former prime minister Stephen Harper.

Around Town photos: Politics and Pen dinner

Catherine Clark showed up. So did Ben Mulroney. All that was missing was Justin Trudeau, who was too busy being prime minister of Canada to make it to the Politics and Pen dinner, held Wednesday at the Fairmont Château Laurier.

From left, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May with Ottawa Centre MP and Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty in conversation with Maclean's political editor Paul Wells at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
Jane Kennedy from ?i2 Ideas & Issues Advertising with Senator David Smith at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
Catherine Clark and Ben Mulroney co-hosted the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 30, 2016, in support of the Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, Alberta Senator Doug Black with Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz and his wife, Valerie, at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, Canadian author Monia Mazigh in conversation with Radio-Canada news anchor CÈline Galipeau and Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, veteran political journalist Robert Fife with Senator David Smith and author, professor and Citizen columnist Andrew Cohen at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman with Adrian Burns, a director with Shaw Communications, Vicki Heyman and Greg Kane, counsel at Dentons, at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From right, Treasury Board president Scott Brison with his husband, Maxime St. Pierre, and Emmanuelle Latraverse, Ottawa bureau chief for Radio-Canada, at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, Heidi Bonnell and Susan Wheeler from Rogers Communications with Politics and Pen committee member Elizabeth Roscoe, a senior vice president with Hill + Knowlton, at this year's dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, CBC Ottawa Radio morning show host Robyn Bresnahan with Ottawa urban planner and author Alain Miguelez and CBC journalist Joanne Chianello at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, NDP MP Charlie Angus with his daughter, Mariah Griffin-Angus, and NDP MP Pierre Nantel arrive to the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
Catherine Clark, daughter of former prime minister Joe Clark, and Ben Mulroney, son of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, co-hosted the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, Conservative MP Lisa Raitt with Martha Durdin, presidentand CEO of the Canadian Credit Union Association, at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016.
Military historian Tim Cook, seen with wife Sarah, was on the jury panel for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, announced at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016.
Authors Denise Chong, Joseph Heath and David Halton at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
Former colleagues Robert Fife and Rosemary Thompson, now director of communications at the National Arts Centre, at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, Gowling WLG partner Jacques Shore with Andrew Harris, manager of public policy at Amazon, and CBC news anchor Peter Mansbridge at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
Whitney Fox with Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains and Dan Goldberg, president and CEO of Telesat, at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, author Monia Mazigh with Barbara Uteck, author Elizabeth Hay and history professor Susan Whitney at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, author Reva Seth with Catherine Clark, president of Catherine Clark Communications, and CPAC producer Catherine Christie-Luff at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
Don Newman with Politics and Pen gala committee member Elizabeth Gray-Smith, ?senior content strategist at Bluesky Strategy Group, at this year's dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
From left, Dan Mader with Ottawa city councillor and author Jody Mitic and Emmanuel Morin with Hill + Knowlton Strategies at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
Hugh Scott from Innovative Medicines Canada with Writers' Trust of Canada board member Jennifer Lambert, an editorial director at HarperCollins Canada, at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016.
From left, Joanne Pitkin with Gillian Cartwright and Scott Jamieson at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
Speaker of the House of Commons Geoff Regan quiets the crowd at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
Liberal MP Kim Rudd with Orleans MP and Chief Government Whip Andrew Leslie (on his cell phone) at the Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.
Jill Scheer, wife of Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, and Patrick Kennedy, Principal at The Earnscliffe Strategy Group, headed up the organizing committee for this year's Politics and Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in support of The Writers' Trust of Canada.