Why I Chose to Launch My Magazine with a Conservative AND a Liberal

In 2015, I decided to launch a blog with a brand that carried important meaning: Pretty & Smart. The blog eventually became Pretty & Smart Co. in 2019 with two other women. Then, in June 2025, I relaunched it once again with a new editorial approach and a new mission: going beyond the weekly blog and creating a full digital magazine published quarterly.

To begin, Pretty & Smart has never been about politics. For a long time, it was focused mainly on lifestyle, which I of course love, and which gave me an amazing escape from my day to day job in politics.

But at its core, Pretty & Smart has always been about beauty, which to me means self-confidence, paired with substance. After all, that is how the brand name was born.

If you have explored the pages of this website, you will see in the About section how it all came about. But I will give you a little clue here by leaving this beautiful memory from 2012:

Fast forward to June 2025, when I decided to relaunch the blog with this new editorial approach. The Opinion & Essays section was added, and thoughtful discourse became an anchor of the new direction. Since then, we have had conversations about whether society is becoming too promiscuous, whether we rely too much on technology, IVF, or divorce, the kinds of conversations good friends might have over a glass of wine (Prosecco for me, or better yet, Cava). At the same time, we have kept exploring the timeless questions: can women truly have it all? Can you be a mother, a career driven woman, and a partner? Can you start a business with a newborn at home? Can you build the life you authentically want, unapologetically?

I have worked in politics since 2008. But that was my day job, not my whole persona, at least not to those meeting me for the first time. Of course, politics has always been fundamentally important to me, but not because of “politics.” It is because of the values I believe in. No one is born with a party stamp on their forehead. We go through life, experience things, read, see, and live things, and through all of that, we decide which party aligns most with our beliefs and what we think is best for the future of our country and our children. This can be debated at length. Many disagree, often vigorously. And that is okay. That is democracy. But Pretty & Smart Co. is not the place for that debate.

In 2022, when my husband became the Leader of the Conservative Party, he asked me to introduce him. That moment was the beginning of many public appearances, either introducing him or standing beside him, fighting for what we believe is best for our country and our children.

That is when a lot changed for me. Before, politics was simply my job. I rarely spoke about it outside of work, especially not while playing soccer with my co-ed team. But now it has somehow become my whole persona. People who have never met me, but think they know me, often see me only as my political stripe. Naturally, I knew this same perception would be pushed onto anything I tried to do as an entrepreneur.

So when it came time to launch the digital magazine, I wanted to address the elephant in the room. A Tale of Two Amandas was not about distancing myself from politics. It was about showing that the magazine is not defined by political stripes, and much more importantly, that women themselves are not defined by them. Two strong women can have so much in common, even when they sit on opposite sides of politics.

Amanda Galbraith and Amanda Alvaro are both unapologetically ambitious mothers. They each balance motherhood with the demanding life of running a communications and PR business. But their similarities do not stop there. Both named their daughters Vivienne, both are married to men named Mark, and both are Geminis born in June, just days apart. They did not know any of this until I brought them together for the interview and photoshoot. Watching them discover it all was magical. Their laughter and smiles filled the room. The connection was instant. And the cherry on top? Our photographer was also named Amanda, a talented Toronto based artist who believed in my project and immediately joined in. Without her talent, her creative direction, and even her connection to Freda’s Boutique, this cover and feature would not have been the same. Thank you, Amanda.

That day, I drove to Toronto and back. The first reason was to take my daughter to see a doctor in the GTA. The second was the photoshoot. I had woken my baby girl at 5 a.m. to make it on time to her appointment, then dropped her off at my dad’s while I met the Amandas. The photoshoot ended around 5 p.m., and by the time I drove back to Ottawa, it was almost 11 p.m. It was a very long day.

But then I thought about what had just happened, being a mom, working on my dreams, juggling it all, just like the Amandas. I felt connected to them. I had hoped for more time, maybe a glass of Prosecco together, but mom duty called. And it felt good. I had accomplished everything I wanted that day. I had squeezed it all in. It was not perfect, I was late to the photoshoot because my daughter’s appointment ran long, but it was proof that yes, you can have it all. Even when it looks messy, it is worth it.

The women I have interviewed for this magazine remind me of this again and again. From Life by Design with Tami Varma, the stylist behind my campaign outfits who juggled her business with a newborn, to Karina the “Skin Fairy,” who raised a child on her own while being the sole provider (we did not touch on this in the interview, but I know her story and admire her deeply). These women have incredible stories, and if you met them in a coffee shop, at a networking event, or at a friend’s party, these are the stories you would leave with, not which political party they support.

To be an amazing, strong woman transcends any party line.

Here is to all the women who inspire me daily. Cheers.

Related reading: About Anaida Poilievre · The power of unapologetic femininity · Why women should advocate for themselves

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