Politicians and Professionals Unite at Toronto's ACTION Party 2014

If you follow CJPAC - the acronym for Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee - on Twitter, then you likely noticed pics of the Mattamy Athletic Centre (former Maple Leaf Gardens) early Thursday morning, ice rink still intact.

By 8:00PM, however, it was as if it were a completely different space, experiencing a complete transformation in order to serve as the lush and stylish venue for the 8th annual CJPAC ACTION Toronto Party.

CJPAC's Annual ACTION Party has become a staple of Jewish Toronto. Like many organized events that bring together the community's promising young professionals looking to network, nosh, and drink the night away, the event featured a smorgasbord of delectable hor d'oeuvres, three fully stocked bars packed with bartenders, a talented live band, a DJ that actually catered to the crowd's sophisticated taste, and an ambiance that was both elegant and fun.

These elements alone make ACTION stand out amongst other parties aligned for the who's who of Jewish Toronto's young professional community.

But, of course, the real kicker, the reason why ACTION sells out every year, why the men and women arrive in professional, stylish attire and why no one gets too liquored up before 11:00PM, is the distinctive networking opportunity the event provides to all in attendance: the chance to meet, chat, and schmooze with some of the preeminent members of Canada's parliament.

As I arrived at Mattamy at approximately 8:45PM, fashionably late of course, it was blatantly obvious why this party is always in such high demand. For any follower of Canadian politics, for any avid reader of what's currently taking place in our government, CJPAC is essentially the Academy Awards for our country's members of parliament.

I mean, EVERYONE was there (over 60 Canadian politicians to be precise), from Toronto's own controversial Mayor, Rob Ford - though, once he arrived, he was ambushed with enthusiastic professionals taking selfies with him, and from the smile on his face you could see he was loving every minute of it - as well as Tory leader Tim Hudak, the honorable Peter Kent, Mark Adler, John Tory, James Lunney, Irwin Cotler - the highest ranking Jewish MP in history, Josh Cooper, Rick Nicholls, Chris Alexander, Michael Levitt, and countless others.

A very popular Mayor Rob Ford

Each MP there seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves, enthusiastically greeting Toronto's young professional community, answering questions, engaging in debates, and discussing freely their political agendas, the upcoming elections, and what they hope to respectively achieve for this great city of Toronto.

And of course, being a Jewish party and all, the topics of Judaism, and Israel, were prevalent.

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