Study Says Layton is Least Civil of MPs

Question Period's inherent antagonism makes opposition MPs come across as ruder, says a McMaster University study.

NDP Leader Jack Layton may have said that his party won't heckle other members in the House of Commons, but a study concludes he was the rudest MP of them all during the last session of Parliament. A researcher at McMaster University in Hamilton reviewed the behaviour of all 308 members of Parliament and kept track of all instances of rudeness during Question Period. On a scale of 100, Layton scored 39, closely followed by former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff at 40. The study's authors do concede that opposition members are less likely to look civil because they're the ones doing the asking and trying to make headlines. Conservative MP Rona Ambrose was found to be the least rude, with a score of 68.