Nova Scotia MP Darren Fisher delivers cheeky Christmas poem in Parliament

The tradition of a tongue-in-cheek Christmas poem delivered by a Nova Scotia member of Parliament has returned to the House of Commons.

Earlier this week, Dartmouth-Cole Harbour MP Darren Fisher stood in the Commons and delivered a holiday recitation poking fun at the political parties and major political issues that have made headlines in recent months.

Fisher’s cheeky poem follows an annual tradition started by former Nova Scotia MP Rodger Cuzner, who retired as a member of Parliament for Cape Breton in 2019. He has since been appointed to the Senate. 

Fisher said in a social media post he was “happy to pick up the torch” from Cuzner, linking to a video of his take on the annual rhyme in the style of the well-known holiday poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Like Cuzner’s previous versions, Fisher started with the line, “‘Twas the week before Christmas,” and proceeded to deliver a series of partisan jabs at his party’s political rivals in a show of good-natured ribbing. 

The 2023 Christmas poem—
A House of Commons tradition.

Happy to pick up the torch from Nova Scotia legend, @RodgerCuzner. pic.twitter.com/9OCcGtUcve

— Darren Fisher (@DarrenFisherNS) December 13, 2023

His quips included references to the marathon overnight voting session recently imposed on the House of Commons by the Conservative Opposition, jokes about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s summer makeover and some zingers about the Liberals having the NDP “dippers” in their pockets – a reference to the Liberal-NDP confidence-and-supply agreement that is keeping the Justin Trudeau’s minority government from toppling.

“This marriage of convenience might seem like a rental, but because of this deal, Canadians got dental,” Fisher said, eliciting big laughs from many in the chamber.

He ended by poking fun at Speaker Greg Fergus, who has been under fire for filming a video wearing his Speaker’s robes while paying tribute to outgoing Ontario interim Liberal party leader John Fraser. The video was played during the provincial party’s recent convention.

On Friday, Fergus delivered an apology in the House of Commons over the incident, saying he will spare no effort to regain the trust of Conservative MPs who have been calling for him to resign. 

“Mr. Speaker, I know that you will hate to see us go,” Fisher quipped at the close of his holiday poem.

“But if you think of us over Christmas, please don’t send us a video.”

“That is really good advice,” Fergus responded with a laugh. 

Liberals were seen giving a standing ovation with many laughs in response to Fisher’s recitation, while some Conservatives appeared less amused and remained seated.