Newly elected MPs start parliamentary orientation sessions on days in Ottawa

Parliament Hill is shown in Ottawa on Monday, July 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — Sima Acan took a seat Monday afternoon inside a room with 14 of her rookie colleagues for the first of a flurry of orientation sessions for her new job as a member of Parliament.

Canadians elected 117 new MPs on April 28 — about one-third of a total number of 343, and most will go through the same first day of school-style crash course over the next week, part of a program run by the House of Commons since 2019.

It’s still only midway through her first day, but Acan’s highlight so far is getting her Parliamentary photo ID card.

“Because, this is the third card since I moved to Canada,” Acan said, proudly showing her card tucked into her lanyard sleeve.

“My first card was my (permanent resident card), and my second was my citizenship. And now as an MP. Driver’s licence, that’s day-to-day stuff. This is a milestone.”

Acan, who moved to Canada when she was 24 from Turkey, is the first Canadian of Turkish descent to be elected to the House of Commons.

Others in the first cohort with Acan include fellow Liberals Marjorie Michel — formerly deputy chief of staff to prime minister Justin Trudeau who has now replaced him as the MP for the Quebec riding of Papineau — and former broadcaster Evan Solomon.

Also in the session is Conservative MP-elect Jim Bélanger — who unseated longtime Liberal incumbent Marc Serré in a redrawn riding outside Sudbury — and Red Deer’s new representative Burton Bailey.

“The thing about becoming a member of Parliament is the learning curve on so many policy issues that that that you need to become familiar with,” said longtime Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, reflecting on his first days as an MP-elect in 2004.

“So becoming a bit of a policy expert on dozens and dozens of areas, it takes a tremendous amount of effort and time to do that. I think a lot of new MPs are struck by the breadth of issues that they’re going to need to sink their teeth into.”

Other topics the MPs will get briefings on include setting up their Parliament Hill and constituency offices, financial resources and House procedures.

They also get a briefing from the sergeant-at-arms office, which for the first time this year also includes modules on foreign interference, House of Commons staff told reporters in a briefing on Monday.

“This module addresses (foreign interference), but we are talking security at many different moments in the program to discuss different things that can have an impact on their security in their constituency office,” said Brigitte Lemire, co-leader of the MPs orientation program.

“But this specific (foreign interference) topic is addressed in the security briefing.”

As far as where MPs will get their office, that’s up to the parties. The House of Commons will give an inventory list of the available offices, and from there the party whip offices will divvy them out.

“Typically starting with the governing party, then moving through the recognized parties. And they’ll make an agreement about who will have which offices,” said Scott Lemoine, the other co-leader of the MPs orientation program.

Even for returning MPs, there’s occasionally some jockeying in the early days after an election to swap their office for a vacant one.

“Sometimes there’s a little bit of jockeying. If you’ve been there for a while, you might give yours up for a better office,” said Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont.

“But most of us are sort of like, ‘we’re happy where we’re at.’”

MPs who were defeated have only about three weeks following the election to empty their Hill offices, along with their constituency offices. Parliament is scheduled to resume on May 26, so new MPs must be installed in their offices before that.

“There’s a whole series of math that goes into who gets what, and I’ve never been able to crack that formula myself,” added Scheer.

“When you secure the trust of the voters who send you Ottawa to be their champion, there’s no such thing as a bad seat in the House of Commons, there’s no such thing as a bad office on Parliament Hill.”

The weeks of orientation, tours, prep, and caucus meetings all culminate to the first day in the House of Commons, where after selecting a speaker, the MPs quickly get to work.

“And you’re in awe because, you’ve worked so hard to get there or stay there,” recalled d’Entremont, who served as deputy speaker in the previous Legislature.

“It’s just a wonderful time to see all of your colleagues, regardless of their political background.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press