Political pranks for April Fools

For those who may have missed it this morning, there were some pretty good April Fools jokes from our political leaders this year.

Rona Ambrose listed Stornoway on Airbnb.

Rona Ambrose/Twitter

Tom Mulcair was going YOLO on the beard.

Tom Mulcair/Twitter

And the Huffington Post Canada reported on PMJT's new pre-rolled shirt line.

HuffPostStyle

April Fools!

I know when that Mulcair ring...

If you were wondering what Tom Mulcair has been doing since the election, it turns out he got just as turnt up as everyone else who is loving Drake's new single, "Hotline Bling". The NDP leader appeared on CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes for a quick cameo.

This gag is a great way for Mulcair to ease back into the spotlight with a sense of humour after a crushing defeat of the Liberals this past October. 

For the full video:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/tom-mulcair-dances-to-drake-s-hotline-bling-for-22-minutes-1.3302564

Maclean's National Leaders Debate

Justin Trudeau, left, Elizabeth May, Tom Mulcair, and Stephen Harper smile for the cameras for the first debate of the election season. Image: NetNewsLedger.com

Ahhh, the debates. 

It's best to start off this blog off where all four major leaders were in the same room, at the same time. When Maclean's and CityNews hosted the first National Leaders Debate on Aug. 8, thousands of Canadians watched, streamed, and listened to the PM and the three hopefuls go at one another in a tactful manner.

As this blog features a non-partisan view, below you'll find notes on each of the candidate's style choices for this event.

Image: Cbc.ca

JUSTIN TRUDEAU
Highlights: The impeccable fit of the suit. Trudeau's a young guy and has the right build for a trimmer suit. Bigger lapel. Also note, the only one not to wear a pin on a lapel. Sported a rich colour of burgundy for his tie.
Appealing to: Everyone.
Significance: If he chose a red tie, it would have been far too predictable. The burgundy is a subtle nod to his party's colour. As some may say he's just not ready, he presented himself like he is.

ELIZABETH MAY
Highlights: A safe black skirt-suit combo, with the white blouse collar sticking out (faux paus of mine). Glad May went with this and not a trouser as this gives her height and elongates her leg although we couldn't see much of the bottom half behind the podium.
Appealing to: Everyone.
Significance: May needs to show her party can take on the Big Three since the Green party is often left behind in election coverage. By giving her height on television against three already super tall men (height=strong, strong=powerful), May's team may have chose this option to show she can take on the Big Three seen as a subtle way for the viewers.

TOM MULCAIR
Highlights: No orange to be seen anywhere. Mulcair has broad shoulders but can pull off the smaller lapel quite nicely. His awesome chestnut shoes, which again, like May, was stuck behind a podium.
Appealing to: Everyone.
Significance: Mulcair's suit dimensions were perfect to scale. Smaller lapel, thus, wider shirt collar. If your outfit is perfect to scale, you look good and confident. Perhaps Mulcair's team was hoping the viewers caught on to that.

STEPHEN HARPER
Highlights: Classic fit for a conservative guy, of course. Wore his party's colour for his tie.
Appealing to: Everyone.
Significance: Harper can't go wrong with something that is traditional. You want to wear what you feel most comfortable in when you take on a debate like this. The media and viewers can't Harp on him for that. Is this look an ode to traditional values?

Closing thoughts: Everyone kept it safe and what was expected of them.