You won91裸聊视频檛 catch Omar Alghabra in a pair of Jordans.

The federal transport minister has been loyal to the Adidas brand ever since he was a kid playing soccer in Saudi Arabia.

91裸聊视频淎didas was the shoe of choice for kids in the late 91裸聊视频�70s and early 91裸聊视频�80s,91裸聊视频� Alghabra said. The ones known as the 91裸聊视频渙riginals91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� black with three thick white stripes down the sides 91裸聊视频� were 91裸聊视频渁 big deal.91裸聊视频�

That nostalgia is what drives his current sneaker collection, which often turns heads when strolls through the corridors on Parliament Hill, or attends a G7 meeting, where his counterparts comment on his kicks.

91裸聊视频淧ositively of course,91裸聊视频� he said.

He also wants to make one thing clear: he91裸聊视频檚 not a sneakerhead, but an 91裸聊视频淎didas-head,91裸聊视频� which is the kind of thing only a sneakerhead would say.

This fascination with the history and specific models of sneakers has driven what is now a multibillion-dollar reselling industry, and created a sneaker culture that has now made its way into the workplace, normalizing a less formal, and less painful, kind of footwear in the office. Even the highest office.

During a Liberal caucus retreat in January, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wore the Nike Dunk Low SB 91裸聊视频楲os Angeles Dodgers91裸聊视频� shoe, with pink on the outsole that represents chewed up bubble gum that players bite.

At the time, he said they were a gift from his son who, 91裸聊视频渓ike his mother, is much cooler than I am.91裸聊视频�

And no, he doesn91裸聊视频檛 have the Montreal Sesame Bagel Dunk, a Nike shoe styled after the food famous in the city that elected him to the House of Commons.

Some credit the rise of sneakers on the Hill to Alghabra. He said he started wearing them as a comfortable alternative during the COVID-19 pandemic, while at the same time realizing he91裸聊视频檚 breaking the norm.

But that91裸聊视频檚 the point.

91裸聊视频淲earing of sneakers is more about breaking tradition than perpetuating it,91裸聊视频� said Elizabeth Semmelhack, director and senior curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.

Throughout the late 19th century and into the 20th, men with white-collar jobs were all expected to wear the same outfit, said Semmelhack.

Then came the concept of 91裸聊视频渃asual Fridays,91裸聊视频� she said, where men, for just one day a week, would reveal a little bit more about who they were in their private lives.

Next up was the emergence of the tech sector, she said, where innovators could basically wear 91裸聊视频減layground attire and be the most powerful men in the room.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淪neakers allow both men and women to participate in fashion,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淭hey aren91裸聊视频檛 hyper-sexualized and can appear cutting-edge and fashionable.91裸聊视频�

Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantman said she91裸聊视频檚 always worn sneakers to work, and that includes the House of Commons.

Lantsman91裸聊视频檚 favourite sneakers are Jordan 1 Mids, which she said she gets for a cheaper price because she fits into kids91裸聊视频� sizes.

She said the wardrobe of female politicians is always subject to scrutiny.

But she said clothes have the power to give people confidence.

More so when they91裸聊视频檙e comfortable, she added.

Plus, she said, it makes her more approachable.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 a new kind of politician. People wear sneakers in their lives, and showing up in the riding in a park in a suit doesn91裸聊视频檛 work,91裸聊视频� said Lantsman.

For women politicians, sneakers, unlike heels, can carry an added symbolic meaning, Semmelhack said, in that it shows they91裸聊视频檙e hitting the ground running, or ready for action.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 the equivalent of a man who had removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves,91裸聊视频� said Semmelhack, noting U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris portrays that image when she wears her Converse sneakers.

Back in Ottawa, women MPs, including Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, are often seen wearing sneakers while scurrying from one meeting to another, but then switch them out for a pair of heels when the cameras are rolling.

That doesn91裸聊视频檛 work for Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner, who gave up heels after spending years wearing them as a broadcaster in Hamilton.

91裸聊视频淚 can91裸聊视频檛 even wear them for a few minutes,91裸聊视频� she said.

Hepfner seeks out comfortable, inexpensive and sparkly sneakers. For that extra comfort, she puts Birkenstock insoles into everything she wears.

Security guards on Parliament Hill have told her they can identify her by her shoes, she said, even before they see the pin that MPs wear on their lapels.

For government House leader Mark Holland, sneakers are a form of expression.

91裸聊视频淭hey just feel like me,91裸聊视频� Holland said.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e in Parliament, we91裸聊视频檙e appropriately wearing suits and dressing for the business that is to be done,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淏ut there91裸聊视频檚 not a lot of ways to express yourself in terms of clothing, particularly as a man. And so it91裸聊视频檚 a small way of expressing myself.91裸聊视频�

His first pair were from former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, who had gifted Holland a pair of red 91裸聊视频淐hucks91裸聊视频� (Chuck Taylor Converse) during the 2011 campaign, to represent a race to the finish line.

Red sneakers were a common prop at Liberal events in the final days of that election, which ended with the Harper Conservatives securing a majority, the NDP forming the official Opposition and Ignatieff stepping down as leader.

Holland also lost his seat that year.

91裸聊视频淵ou would think that it was bad luck because I lost that election, but it then became a thing to wear red Chucks in election campaigns,91裸聊视频� said Holland, who returned to the House of Commons in 2015.

91裸聊视频淥mar (Alghabra) and I actually had a thing: 100 days out before a campaign, we go and get a new pair of red shoes.91裸聊视频�

Holland now has about 10 pairs of Chucks in different colours. And they91裸聊视频檙e all low-tops, which he has strong feelings about.

While the MPs agree sneakers are a respectable form of fashion, most don91裸聊视频檛 see it leading to where things are in the United States, where a Congressional Sneaker Caucus exists to foster bipartisan relationships.

Holland, however, suggested he could be swayed.

91裸聊视频淚 like the idea of making connections that aren91裸聊视频檛 political and seeing each other as human beings,91裸聊视频� Holland said.

91裸聊视频淲e live in a time that91裸聊视频檚 very divided and pointy and partisan,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淪o it91裸聊视频檚 a way of maybe not taking ourselves so seriously and reminding ourselves that despite our differences, we have a lot more in common than not and to kind of reduce rancour. So on that basis, sure.91裸聊视频�

Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press

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