Opinion: Politics, democracy and lessons from the rugby pitch

Montreal Gazette

5 days ago

Op Eds
As I prepare to step down after 12 years in municipal politics, and as my oldest child prepares to graduate from high school, I find myself reflecting on the surprising places where I've found the most powerful lessons in leadership, resilience and community. One of those places is my daughter's rugby games.
The Class of 2025 began high school under circumstances none of us could have ever imagined. Their first year was shaped by lockdowns, mask mandates, classroom 'bubbles' and long stretches of online learning. My three children were among the first in their schools to send their classes home that year when we contracted COVID-19 early in the semester. It was a tough time for everyone, especially for kids looking for connection and normalcy.
Yet, something extraordinary happened in the middle of that isolation and difficult time. A longtime rugby coach at my daughter's school, Stephen Kaplan, came out of retirement. He launched a remote rugby program over Zoom, and a group of 12-year-old girls started training from their basements. Coach Stephen sent each of them a ball. Parents and siblings stepped in as training partners. These girls, who had never played a game together in person, began to form a team.
And when in-person practices resumed, they showed up. They proudly pulled on ECS jerseys (Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School), learned to tackle and be tackled, and embraced a sport built on physical grit, passing the ball, trust and loyalty. I still remember watching my daughter in her first game. She was fast but small, and I nearly threw up when I saw her tackle someone twice her size.
Yet with each game, their smiles grew wider. Their confidence soared. These young women weren't just playing rugby; they were becoming a team in the truest sense.
That team taught me something I hadn't fully appreciated in all my years around sports and civic life. Rugby demands fierce competition on the field, but it's followed by camaraderie off it. Players will knock each other down during a game, then film TikToks together afterward. They battle, then they break bread. It's a culture of mutual respect, accountability, and deep connection — qualities that feel increasingly rare in today's polarized world.
Winston Churchill famously said, 'Rugby is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen.'
I believe politics could learn a lot from rugby.
In my role as mayor of Westmount, and previously as a city councillor, I've seen how local government, closest to the people, can be both the most effective and the most human level of public service. When it works, it's because people bring passion, integrity, a willingness to collaborate and the ability to make decisions. But increasingly, we're losing the ability to disagree without despising each other.
If we want to preserve our democracy, we need to reintroduce that culture of respectful, purpose-driven competition.
This fall, Quebecers will head to the polls for municipal elections. Candidates will step forward to represent their communities. I hope they run with eyes wide open: understanding the challenges ahead, from massive infrastructure debts to the housing crisis, but also embracing the profound privilege of serving their neighbours.
I hope they remember you can be tough in debate and kind in spirit. Like my daughter's rugby team, our democracy depends on grit, grace and teamwork.
I hope the 2025 graduates know how proud they should be. They started high school in a pandemic and emerged with resilience, kindness and an uncommon strength forged in uncertainty. Watching them and the ECS juvenile rugby team has been one of the greatest joys of my life. I have to thank the teachers, former players who served as role models and of course Coach Stephen for teaching this team to be so fierce.
I know what they learned over the past five years will help them with everything that lies ahead.
Let's take that spirit of teamwork, respect and connection beyond the pitch into our shared world.