The Ottawa Bubble
Canada's Westminster system was instituted at a time when the young Dominion faced repeated threats of American expansion. Inside the traditions of the Commons chambers, today’s MPs operate within increasingly centralized power structures where party leaders — especially the Prime Minister — hold unprecedented control, while Canadians observe through carefully managed television feeds that obscure how little their elected representatives actually represent them. Cameras look in and look out, suggesting a transparency that may be more fantasy than reality.
The Ottawa Bubble examines Canada's Parliament, the insular world where politicians and bureaucrats can develop a distorted perspective on the vast country they govern. A former senior public servant, I documented the corridors and chambers of the House of Commons to reveal how a 19th-century institution struggles to serve a modern G7 nation.
Like a Victorian-era novelty, Parliament’s picturesque scenes come alive when agitated, then settle back into decorative stillness.
