A special Thanksgiving dispatch
What Queen's Park is thankful for
This Thanksgiving, I’m feeling grateful for you, my readers! This newsletter wouldn’t be possible without your support. Thank you for reading, sharing, subscribing — and tipping me off! — these past four years.
So grab a leftover turkey sandwich, or perhaps a Ghosts-of-Queen’s Park-themed beer, and dig in to this special holiday edition rounding up Thanksgiving content from years past, featuring what the leaders are thankful for, mayors’ favourite local causes, political war stories, family recipes — including from the Speakers and a top Tory operative — and how the turkey came close to becoming Ontario’s official bird.
And if you still aren’t subscribed to the Legislature’s only independent and most-read newsletter, there’s one week left to get it for 25% off:
— Here’s what Premier DOUG FORD and Oppo Leader MARIT STILES are grateful for, the Speakers’ recipes for apple pie, a killer cauliflower soup and baked beans, then-Premier BILL DAVIS’s fateful Thanksgiving — as told by STEVE PAIKIN — and how the turkey almost beat out the loon for Ontario’s official bird. Dig in.
— Meanwhile, PC Party prez MICHAEL DIAMOND’s hybrid pecan-pumpkin pie continues to be a hit, mayors highlight their favourite charities, and big players around the Pink Palace reflect on the holiday. Have at it.
— Not for the faint of heart: I interviewed the Legislature’s Ghost Tour guide about the building’s spooky past. Per this reporter’s experience, you’re most likely to spot a spectre around the Speaker’s quarters, Lieutenant Governor’s suite, and third-floor Globe and Mail office. Tours run Fridays at lunchtime. Sign up here…if you dare.
I often get visited by ghosts in the evening in my office on the third floor. Most of the times they are happy. They come for a visit between 7:45 and 8:30 :-)