Q&A: Back to school with Heather McPherson — what the NDP heritage critic is watching as Parliament returns

It’s back-to-school season in Ottawa, as MPs are set to return to the nation’s capital next week for Parliament’s fall sitting. To preview the session, The Wire Report caught up with NDP MP Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, Alta.), who also serves as her party’s critic for culture and heritage. McPherson outlined her priorities for the coming months, offered a performance review for Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller (Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs, Que.), and disclosed which bands are filling her playlists these days. As the NDP’s culture and heritage critic, where is your focus heading into Parliament’s fall session? Well, I’m the critic for many things because it’s a little slim on the ground these days. But, of course, there are big pieces of legislation coming forward. On online harms and young people’s access to social media, we’ve been spending the summer meeting with stakeholders and meeting with people to see how they’re feeling about this. We’re looking at what the experts are saying and what people that have been impacted by these harms are saying, so that’s been a big priority for us. I also represent the theatre district of Edmonton, if not Alberta, so I’ll be keeping an eye on the funding for our culture and arts sector. We’ve seen cuts and we’ve seen some real damage being done to those parts of our economy that are so important. One of the things I was so disappointed in last session was the government’s decision to not make the big guys pay their fair share into our media landscape. The fact that Canadian companies and Canadian industries pay more money than Americans is really damaging. There’s going to be a lot happening with Minister Miller’s files this fall, and I certainly hope they have learned their lesson that appeasing Donald Trump doesn’t work, and it certainly doesn’t work on the backs of our cultural industries. As an Alberta MP, do you think cultural policy is particularly important right now, considering the separatist movements in your home province and Quebec? Listen, I was happy to see Mark Carney walk away from any deal with the Americans that would have put our culture at risk. And I’m not just talking about English culture because protecting our French-language media and French-language culture is important. Protecting Indigenous cultures and Indigenous-language productions is also really important, so I was glad to see that he walked away from that. But we go back to this thing where he has shown that he doesn’t have the adequate level of respect for our cultural institutions and the massive contributions they make to our country. Billions of dollars of industry and investment comes through the cultural industries. TIFF is going on in Toronto right now, and that’s just one example. I’d say, in the past, we have not seen Alberta get its fair share of funding for the arts, so we are keeping an eye on that and making sure that’s not happening. Now, more than ever, we need to prove why telling a Canadian story that includes Albertan stories is so important, and why our film industry is so important, and why supporting workers within all forms of media is so important. That’s another thing. We underfund much of our media, certainly compared to other like-minded countries. In Australia and the U.K., the public broadcaster is funded at a level multitudes higher than what we give to the CBC. So, I think there is an important recognition that the government has to make about how, while our very sovereignty is at risk, Canadian stories, culture, and heritage is vital. You mentioned the CBC. Some stakeholders are expecting a mandate review for the public broadcaster sometime in the coming months. Is that something you would welcome? Certainly. I think using examples of how other countries support public broadcasters and how other countries support their media landscape is a good example, and particularly relevant because Canadians have a pretty big media neighbour. Our history in this country is us fighting to make sure that we continue to have a strong cultural sector. It would be an extraordinary mistake to stop that investment just as we need it most in this country. We know it’s almost fall in Ottawa because everyone is gossiping about the possibility of a cabinet shuffle. You’re the critic for Marc Miller. How would you assess his performance? Does he need to go? Marc and I work really well together. I have concerns with Minister Miller. I have concerns with some of the decisions he makes. But, if there’s going to be a cabinet shuffle, I would tell you very bluntly that there are other ministers I think need to go much sooner. How often do you engage with Minister Miller? Are most cabinet ministers open to conversations with their critics? To be honest, it depends on the minister. I have met with Marc. We sit down and chat. He’s very open and responds to me when I reach out, but other ministers do not. I wanted to finish with a bit of a grab bag. Since we’re talking about Canadian culture, what television shows are you watching at the moment? I’m such a nerd. I watch The National or CBC News. I’m not much of a TV person, to be honest. What about music? Is there anything you’re listening to these days? There’s lots of great Canadian music that I absolutely adore. This isn’t a Canadian artist, but the Social Distortion is going to be playing this week and I’m very excited to go see them. I’m also a big fan of the Glorious Sons and Corb Lund. We also just had the Edmonton folk festival, which is in my riding and one of the best weekends of the year. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. dlegree@thewirereport.ca

Q&A: Back to school with Heather McPherson — what the NDP heritage critic is watching as Parliament returns

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By Davis Legree
|September 18, 2026

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Q&A: Back to school with Heather McPherson — what the NDP heritage critic is watching as Parliament returns

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By Davis Legree
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