Politics and the Pen dinner raises $530K for Writers’ Trust of Canada

We know at this point we’re not going to spoil anything for you by jumping right to the end to tell you that author John Vaillant won the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing at last night’s Politics and the Pen.

In a lot of ways, the evening was like a gripping book, one that’s hard to set aside and not to be skipped over. It was filled with juicy bits and laugh-out-loud funny moments.

Vaillant won the $25,000 prize with his bestseller about the Fort McMurray wildfire, “Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast”, published by Knopf Canada.

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The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize recognizes literary nonfiction on a political subject that’s relevant to Canadian readers and that has the potential to shape or influence thinking on Canadian political life. Fire Weather was lauded by the jury for being a “deeply compelling, skillfully crafted story”. 

Vaillant accepted his award at the Fairmont Château Laurier in front of a sold-out, 500-person crowd of politicians, authors, journalists, corporate sponsors and diplomats gathered for a literary gala that is, for many, a fixture on the social calendar. The fundraising dinner for the Writers’ Trust of Canada was co-chaired by Elizabeth Gray-Smith, lead strategist at Gray Smith Communications, and Patrick Kennedy, principal at Earnscliffe Strategies.

The event raised $530,000 for the non-profit organization.

“This is the night everybody comes to see everybody,” quipped Marlene Floyd, senior national director of corporate affairs for Microsoft, as she glanced at the familiar faces surrounding her during the cocktail reception. Extroverts had a gloriously uninterrupted 90 minutes to mingle before dinner, which didn’t really slow them down, either.

Distinguished guests included Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner, U.S. Ambassador David Cohen and Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, who’s also author of four books.

Journalist Paul Wells, who’s a former Shaughnessy Cohen Prize winner, was seen with a small supply of pins  that he was handing out, inspired by the cover of his new book, “Justin Trudeau on the Ropes”. 

Politics and the Pen is one of those rare evenings when everyone, whatever their political stripe, comes together for a fun evening that supports and celebrates Canadian writers. 

Typically, everyone is coaxed into the ballroom for dinner by a bagpiper, but even that doesn’t really do the trick. Once the chatty crowd finally did make its way to the room, Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus tried a few different techniques to get everyone to listen, including a call to order. As the MP for Hull-Aylmer, he was one of the local politicians in attendance, as was his colleague Mona Fortier (Ottawa-Vanier).

CIBC global investment banking vice-chair Lisa Raitt, a former cabinet minister in the Stephen Harper government, took on the task with former NDP deputy leader Megan Leslie, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund of Canada, of creating the entertaining video that’s traditionally played for everyone at the start of the dinner.

In their efforts to make the video fresh and interesting and something they could call their own, they sought advice from a seasoned pro, Senator Rodger Cuzner. They also showed some of his best clips from past years featuring Pierre Poilievre, Jean Chrétien, Tom Clark and Andrew Scheer.

 As well, the women consulted representatives from top sponsors, such as Imperial Oil’s Brad Corson, CN’s Janet Drysdale and CIBC’s Roman Dubczak. Said Dubczak in the video, keeping a straight face: “Bankers are universally known as hilarious people”. He then made a quick phone call to seek further input, only to find himself stuck in the bank’s automated telephone banking system with an estimated wait time of four hours.

The comical video, sponsored by Rogers, wrapped up with both women excitedly shouting, like a moment out of Saturday Night Live, with a jazzy riff playing: “Live from the Château Laurier, it’s Kathleen Wynne and Jason Kenney!” The crowd cheered enthusiastically in response.

The evening was hosted by Jason Kenney, former premier of Alberta and cabinet minister in the Stephen Harper government, and former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne, a member of Ontario’s legislature for 20 years and Ontario’s first woman and first openly gay premier.

The pair poked fun at each other and themselves, and pilloried a parade of politicos. When they were done, they earned a standing ovation from the audience.

The gala committee included Jim Armour, managing partner at Summa Strategies; Hardave Birk, director of government relations at Rogers; Parliamentary Centre chair emerita Maureen Boyd; Heather Bradley, retired director of communications for the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons; Loyalist Public Affairs partner Dan Mader; GreenShield president Rob Rosenfeld; and Loyalist Public Affairs senior director Alex Spence.

The remaining four finalists for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize are each awarded $2,500. They included “Not Here: Why American Democracy Is Eroding and How Canada Can Protect Itself” by Rob Goodman, and “Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial” by Benjamin Perrin.

Also in contention were  “Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances and Disunity” by Donald J. Savoie, and “The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart” by Astra Taylor.

caroline@obj.ca