Sneakers of the House: Canada's MPs embrace comfort, style in office footwear trend
You won't catch Omar Alghabra in a pair of Jordans.
The federal transport minister has been loyal to the Adidas brand ever since he was a kid playing soccer in Saudi Arabia.
"Adidas was the shoe of choice for kids in the late '70s and early '80s," Alghabra said. The ones known as the "originals" -- black with three thick white stripes down the sides -- were "a big deal."
That nostalgia is what drives his current sneaker collection, which often turns heads when strolls through the corridors on Parliament Hill, or attends a G7 meeting, where his counterparts comment on his kicks.
"Positively of course," he said.
He also wants to make one thing clear: he's not a sneakerhead, but an "Adidas-head," which is the kind of thing only a sneakerhead would say.
This fascination with the history and specific models of sneakers has driven what is now a multibillion-dollar reselling industry, and created a sneaker culture that has now made its way into the workplace, normalizing a less formal, and less painful, kind of footwear in the office. Even the highest office.
During a Liberal caucus retreat in January, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wore the Nike Dunk Low SB 'Los Angeles Dodgers' shoe, with pink on the outsole that represents chewed up bubble gum that players bite.
At the time, he said they were a gift from his son who, "like his mother, is much cooler than I am."
And no, he doesn't have the Montreal Sesame Bagel Dunk, a Nike shoe styled after the food famous in the city that elected him to the House of Commons.
Some credit the rise of sneakers on the Hill to Alghabra. He said he started wearing them as a comfortable alternative during the COVID-19 pandemic, while at the same time realizing he's breaking the norm.
But that's the point.
"Wearing of sneakers is more about breaking tradition than perpetuating it," said Elizabeth Semmelhack, director and senior curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.
Throughout the late 19th century and into the 20th, men with white-collar jobs were all expected to wear the same outfit, said Semmelhack.
Then came the concept of "casual Fridays," she said, where men, for just one day a week, would reveal a little bit more about who they were in their private lives.
Next up was the emergence of the tech sector, she said, where innovators could basically wear "playground attire and be the most powerful men in the room."
"Sneakers allow both men and women to participate in fashion," she said. "They aren't hyper-sexualized and can appear cutting-edge and fashionable."
Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantman said she's always worn sneakers to work, and that includes the House of Commons.
Lantsman's favourite sneakers are Jordan 1 Mids, which she said she gets for a cheaper price because she fits into kids' sizes.
She said the wardrobe of female politicians is always subject to scrutiny.
But she said clothes have the power to give people confidence.
More so when they're comfortable, she added.
Plus, she said, it makes her more approachable.
"There's a new kind of politician. People wear sneakers in their lives, and showing up in the riding in a park in a suit doesn't work," said Lantsman.
For women politicians, sneakers, unlike heels, can carry an added symbolic meaning, Semmelhack said, in that it shows they're hitting the ground running, or ready for action.
"It's the equivalent of a man who had removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves," said Semmelhack, noting U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris portrays that image when she wears her Converse sneakers.
Back in Ottawa, women MPs, including Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, are often seen wearing sneakers while scurrying from one meeting to another, but then switch them out for a pair of heels when the cameras are rolling.
That doesn't work for Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner, who gave up heels after spending years wearing them as a broadcaster in Hamilton.
"I can't even wear them for a few minutes," she said.
Hepfner seeks out comfortable, inexpensive and sparkly sneakers. For that extra comfort, she puts Birkenstock insoles into everything she wears.
Security guards on Parliament Hill have told her they can identify her by her shoes, she said, even before they see the pin that MPs wear on their lapels.
For government House leader Mark Holland, sneakers are a form of expression.
"They just feel like me," Holland said.
"We're in Parliament, we're appropriately wearing suits and dressing for the business that is to be done," he said.
"But there's not a lot of ways to express yourself in terms of clothing, particularly as a man. And so it's a small way of expressing myself."
His first pair were from former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, who had gifted Holland a pair of red "Chucks" (Chuck Taylor Converse) during the 2011 campaign, to represent a race to the finish line.
Red sneakers were a common prop at Liberal events in the final days of that election, which ended with the Harper Conservatives securing a majority, the NDP forming the official Opposition and Ignatieff stepping down as leader.
Holland also lost his seat that year.
"You would think that it was bad luck because I lost that election, but it then became a thing to wear red Chucks in election campaigns," said Holland, who returned to the House of Commons in 2015.
"Omar (Alghabra) and I actually had a thing: 100 days out before a campaign, we go and get a new pair of red shoes."
Holland now has about 10 pairs of Chucks in different colours. And they're all low-tops, which he has strong feelings about.
While the MPs agree sneakers are a respectable form of fashion, most don't see it leading to where things are in the United States, where a Congressional Sneaker Caucus exists to foster bipartisan relationships.
Holland, however, suggested he could be swayed.
"I like the idea of making connections that aren't political and seeing each other as human beings," Holland said.
"We live in a time that's very divided and pointy and partisan," he said. "So it's a way of maybe not taking ourselves so seriously and reminding ourselves that despite our differences, we have a lot more in common than not and to kind of reduce rancour. So on that basis, sure."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2023.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Latest updates on the major wildfires currently burning in Canada
Thousands of Canadians have been displaced as fires burn in Alberta, B.C. and Manitoba. Here are the latest updates.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
Toronto man killed his mother and decapitated her — but it wasn't murder, lawyers argue
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during at his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
Kidnapped by her father and kept in a crawl space: Court documents reveal Montreal horror story
A Montreal father who kidnapped his daughter who has autism and lied to police when they asked where she was should serve three years in prison, a Crown prosecutor said.
Loblaw agrees to sign grocery code of conduct after months of negotiations
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. said Thursday it's ready to sign on to the grocery code of conduct, paving the way for an agreement that's been years in the making.
Pierre Poilievre presses Justin Trudeau for summer pause on carbon and fuel taxes
To give Canadians a break on their summer road trips, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to suspend all gas and diesel taxes from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
Teen died from eating a spicy chip as part of social media challenge, autopsy report concludes
A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance 'with a high capsaicin concentration.'
Ontario's so-called 'Crypto King' soliciting investments as recently as February: police
Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ Aiden Pleterski was soliciting new investors as recently as February – a year-and-a-half after he was petitioned into bankruptcy for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million - police alleged on Thursday.
Noticed a new payment? Some Canadians get first carbon rebate
Many Canadians found a message from the Canada Revenue Agency this week as they received their first direct deposit for the Canada Carbon Rebate.
Local Spotlight
Starbucks fan on decades-long journey to visit every store in the world
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
'Sacred work': Sask. First Nation learning how to conduct its own underground searches
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
'It could mean a cure': Cautious optimism for groundbreaking ALS research at Western
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
B.C. musician's song catches attention of Canucks
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
'We're on standby': Team ready to help entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Thieves caught on camera stealing pet chicken from North Vancouver backyard
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
Chris Hadfield inspires youth musical in Sudbury
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.