This Party Leader Speaks Most in the House | HuffPost

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Two new infographics pair Members of Parliament with a notable book by a Canadian author and illustrate -- in terms everyone can understand -- how much MPs spoke in the 129 sitting days in the House of Commons in 2012.

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Co-founder and executive director, Samara

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Almost 8 million words were spoken by MPs in the House of Commons last year, but some MPs had more to say than others.

Recent debates about the role of backbench MPs, including the Speaker's recent ruling on a question of privilege, have raised questions about who speaks in the House and how often.

As it turns out, there is huge diversity in how much MPs speak in the House of Commons.

Two new infographics pair Members of Parliament with a notable book by a Canadian author and illustrate -- in terms everyone can understand -- how much MPs spoke in the 129 sitting days in the House of Commons in 2012.

The first "MPs by the Books" shows the most talkative, the least talkative, and also allows people to find how their own MP ranked.

The second, "House of Words," reveals how word counts break down by gender, age and party in the Commons.

These images reveal a few surprising things about our MPs:

First, Conservative MPs take up less air time. Despite making up 53% of the House, Conservatives spoke only 36% of the words. The NDP dominate the debate, speaking 44% of the words while comprising only 33% of the House. The Liberals, at 11% of the House, speak 16% of the words.

Second, there's a huge variety in MPs' verbosity. Peter Julian, Kevin Lamoureux, Elizabeth May and Kellie Leitch, at over 740,000 words combined, are the most vocal MPs. Alice Wong, Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Keith Ashfield and Rob Anders are the quietest, speaking about 1,000 words each. This is as few as written in a children's book, such as Roch Carrier's The Hockey Sweater.

Third, Harper lays low while May dominates. Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke the least of all four leaders and Elizabeth May spoke more than all three other leaders combined, about as many words as are written in Naomi Klein's No Logo.

Fourth, underrepresented groups speak more than their numbers would suggest. Female make up 25% of MPs (and 51% of Canadians) and spoke 31% of words; and similarly MPs under age 35 are 9% of the House (while 22% of Canadians are aged 18 to 34) but speak 11% of the words.

Click here to see how your MP stacks up. What do you think of our book pairings? Would you have done anything different? Comment below and tell us what you think!

Highlights: 2011 National Household Survey

The Survey(01 of26)

CP — Statistics Canada released the first tranche of results Wednesday from the 2011 voluntary National Household Survey, which replaced the cancelled mandatory long-form census.The survey, which replaced the mandatory long-form census cancelled by the Harper Conservatives in 2010, is filled with warnings that the data may not be as accurate, given the survey's voluntary nature. HIGHLIGHTS: (credit:Shutterstock)

Nation Of Immigrants(02 of26)

Canada was home to an estimated 6,775,800 immigrants in 2011, comprising 20.6 per cent of the population — more than ever before and the highest proportion of all G8 countries. (credit:Alamy)

Aboriginal Population Growth(03 of26)

Canada's aboriginal population grew by 20.1 per cent — 232,385 people — between 2006 and 2011, compared with 5.2 per cent for non-aboriginal people.1,400,685 people identified themselves as aboriginal in 2011, representing 4.3 per cent of the Canadian population. Aboriginal Peoples accounted for 3.8 per cent of the population in 2006, 3.3 per cent in 2001 and 2.8 per cent in 1996. (credit:Alamy)

Foster Care(04 of26)

Almost half (48.1 per cent) of all children aged 14 and under in foster care in Canada in 2011 were aboriginal children. (credit:Shutterstock)

Aboriginal Children(05 of26)

Aboriginal children aged 14 and under made up 28 per cent of Canada's total aboriginal population, while their non-aboriginal counterparts represented 16.5 per cent of all non-aboriginals. (credit:Alamy)

Native Tongue(06 of26)

Only 17.2 per cent of aboriginals reported being able to conduct a conversation in an aboriginal language, compared with 21 per cent in the 2006 census. (credit:Alamy)

Foreign-Born(07 of26)

About 1,162,900 foreign-born people immigrated to Canada between 2006 and 2011, making up 17.2 per cent of the foreign-born population and 3.5 per cent of Canada's total population. (credit:Alamy)

Ethnic Origins(08 of26)

More than 200 different ethnic origins were reported in the 2011 survey, with 13 of them representing more than a million people each. (credit:Alamy)

Visible Minorities(09 of26)

Nearly 6,264,800 people identified themselves as a visible minority, representing 19.1 per cent of the population. 65 per cent of them were born outside Canada. (credit:Alamy)

Predominant Groups(10 of26)

South Asians, Chinese and blacks accounted for 61.3 per cent of the visible minority population, followed by Filipinos, Latin Americans, Arabs, Southeast Asians, West Asians, Koreans and Japanese. (credit:Alamy)

Religion(11 of26)

More than 22.1 million people — two-thirds of Canadians — said they were affiliated with a Christian religion, including 12.7 million Roman Catholics, the largest single group. (credit:Alamy)

No Religion(12 of26)

7.8 million people, 23.9 per cent of the population, reported having no religious affiliation. (credit:Alamy)

(13 of26)

Slightly more than one million people, or 3.2 per cent of the population, identified themselves as Muslim, while Hindus represented 1.5 per cent, Sikhs 1.4 per cent, Buddhists 1.1 per cent and Jews one per cent. (credit:Alamy)

Highlights Of The 2011 Census(14 of26)

Here are some highlights from the 2011 Canadian Census. With files from The Canadian Press. (AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AFP/Getty Images)

33,476,688 People(15 of26)

As of May 2011, 33,476,688 people were enumerated in Canada, nearly twice as many as in 1961 and 10 times the number in 1861. (Alamy) (credit:Alamy)

Population Growth Speeds Up(16 of26)

Canada's population grew by 5.9 per cent between 2006 and 2011, up slightly from 5.4 per cent during the previous five years. (Flickr: jtbradford) (credit:Flickr:jtbradford)

Go West(17 of26)

For the first time, more people in Canada live west of Ontario (30.7 per cent) than in Quebec and Atlantic Canada combined (30.6 per cent). (Flickr: derekGavey) (credit:Flickr:derekGavey)

We're Number One(18 of26)

Canada's population growth between 2006 and 2011 was the highest among G8 countries. (Flickr: WarmSleepy) (credit:Flickr:WarmSleepy)

Exceptions To The Rule(19 of26)

Every province and most territories saw their population increase between 2006 and 2011; the rate of growth increased everywhere except in Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. (AP) (credit:AP)

Ontario Falters(20 of26)

The growth rate in Ontario declined to 5.7 per cent, its lowest level since the early 1980s. (Alamy) (credit:Alamy)

Saskatchewan Out Of The Red(21 of26)

Population growth in Saskatchewan hit 6.7 per cent, compared with a negative growth rate of 1.1 per cent between 2001 and 2006; the province welcomed more than 28,000 immigrants during the latest census period, nearly three times the number of the previous five-year period. (Flickr: Just a Prairie Boy) (credit:Flickr:Just a Prairie Boy)

Yukon And Manitoba Take Off(22 of26)

The rate of growth in both Yukon (11.6 per cent) and Manitoba (5.2 per cent) has doubled since 2006. (Flickr: US Mission Canada) (credit:Flickr:US Mission Canada)

The East Is Growing Too(23 of26)

The rate of growth in Prince Edward Island (3.2 per cent), New Brunswick (2.9 per cent) and Newfoundland and Labrador (1.8 per cent) has increased substantially between 2006 and 2011. (Flickr JaimeW) (credit:Flickr:JaimeW)

Cities Rule..(24 of26)

Nearly seven of every 10 Canadians lived in one of Canada's 33 main urban centres in 2011. (Flickr mark.woodbury) (credit:Flickr:mark.woodbury)

.. Except Not In Ontario..(25 of26)

The rate of population growth in almost all census metropolitan areas located in Ontario slowed between 2006 and 2011. (Flickr abdallahh) (credit:Flickr:abdallahh)

Maybe Because Everyone Moved To Alberta(26 of26)

Of the 15 Canadian communities with the highest rates of growth, 10 were located in Alberta. (AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AFP/Getty Images)

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