Ruth Ellen Brosseau
House Leader for the New Democratic Party
In office
January 31, 2018 – March 14, 2019
LeaderJagmeet Singh
Preceded byPeter Julian
Succeeded byPeter Julian
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Berthier—Maskinongé
In office
May 2, 2011 – October 21, 2019
Preceded byGuy André
Succeeded byYves Perron
Personal details
Born (1984-04-26) April 26, 1984
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Political partyNew Democratic
Residence(s)Trois-Rivières-Ouest, Quebec
ProfessionFarmer, pub manager

Ruth Ellen Brosseau (born April 26, 1984) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Berthier—Maskinongé in the House of Commons from the 2011 federal election until her defeat in 2019. She is a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP).

In Brosseau's first election campaign, she gained national attention for her surprising rise from a "paper candidate" to a viable contestant; she also gained the nickname "Vegas Girl" for a mid-election vacation to Las Vegas. She won reelection in the 2015 federal election with a larger vote share despite her party falling from second to third place nationally. Her parliamentary roles included House Leader of the NDP, critic for Agriculture and Agri-Food and deputy NDP caucus chair.

Early and personal life

Brosseau was born in Ottawa, and lived in Hudson, Quebec, before her family moved to Kingston, Ontario.[1] Brosseau's father, Marc, is a francophone,[2] who is also fluent in English.[3] Brosseau was educated in French both in Quebec and in Ontario.[4] She attended St. Lawrence College in Kingston, but left prior to completing her diploma.[5]

Before her election to Parliament, Brosseau was an assistant manager for Oliver's Pub, a bar on the campus of Carleton University in Ottawa.[6] She also worked as a bartender at Pier 21 in the ByWard Market near Parliament and the University of Ottawa. She is also an animal welfare activist who has worked to find homes for stray animals and help injured animals recover.[7]

Brosseau is a single mother. She gave birth when she was 17 and finished high school partly through the use of correspondence courses.[1] Her son does not have any contact with his biological father.[8] As a young mother Brosseau cleaned hotel rooms and was fired after she tried to organize the employees.[9]

During her tenure as MP, Brosseau divided her time between her riding and Hull, Quebec, in the National Capital Region.[10][11] By 2019, Brosseau was in a relationship with Nicolas Gauthier, a farmer in Yamachiche, Quebec. Before her defeat in the 2019 Canadian federal election, Brosseau stated that she planned to remain in the area regardless of the outcome of the election.[12] She married a local pork farmer and worked on the farm and the attached charcuterie shop starting in January 2020.[13]

Political career

2011 election

Brosseau first ran for a seat in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 federal election, as the New Democratic Party candidate in the electoral district of Berthier—Maskinongé in central Quebec. She was the second nomination choice of the party as the original candidate, Julie Demers, chose to run in Bourassa.[14] Brosseau was a paper candidate who had been selected by the party due to the lack of a viable local nominee.[15] She agreed to run after being asked by politically active friends who frequented the bar where she worked.[16]

The vegetarian Brosseau knew nothing about politics or the riding, with many pork and beef farmers, and a travel time of three-and-one-half hours away from her Ottawa home by car.[15][16] She did not expect to win,[17] did not campaign, and never went to the riding, which straddles Lanaudière and Mauricie. During the election, Brosseau went on vacation to Las Vegas for her birthday. Her trip had been arranged prior to the election being called; by the time the writ was dropped, it was too late to reschedule or get a refund.[18] The media mocked her as a "Vegas girl",[16] but NDP leader Jack Layton defended Brosseau's decision to vacation, pinning the blame on Stephen Harper not keeping his promise on fixed election dates.[19] An op-ed in the National Post criticized Brosseau's inexperience, writing that she is "an extreme example of what happens when people sign up to run for a party with little or no expectation of actually winning".[20]

On election night, Brosseau defeated incumbent Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament Guy André, former provincial Liberal MNA Francine Gaudet and three other candidates, winning a plurality with 22,484 votes, representing just under 40% of all the votes cast. This represented a lead of 5,816 votes over André, who finished a distant second with only 29.4 percent of the vote.[21] Her victory was part of a wave of NDP support in Quebec that increased its standing in the province from one seat to 59.

There was some concern about Brosseau's proficiency in French given her riding's demographics. At the time, 98% of Berthier-Maskinongé's residents were francophone,[22] and 77 percent of them did not speak English.[5] She was unable to conduct an interview in French when elected.[23] At a press conference held the day after Brosseau's election, Tom Mulcair, then the NDP co-deputy leader and Quebec lieutenant, addressed her language issues. While conceding that Brosseau's command of French was "not at a level we would expect for a riding like Berthier—Maskinongé", he personally promised to "help organize her office" and "give her all the help that's needed."[24]

Two days after the election, allegations were made by both the defeated Liberal and Conservative candidates about irregularities on Brosseau's nomination papers, which the other parties had chosen not to vet because of low expectations of her winning. The local Liberal and Conservative associations called for a by-election, but Elections Canada found Brosseau's nomination papers to be in order and subsequently ruled that only a court can order new elections.[25][26] Both parties subsequently declined to file a formal court challenge.[25] In response to the allegations, the NDP released a statement, stating that "All signatures were collected legitimately, the documents were tabled with Elections Canada and they were approved by the Returning Officer."[27][28]

41st Parliament

Immediately following her election, Brosseau began working with Kathleen Monk, the NDP's director of communication in 2011, to tackle some of the challenges she faced as a new MP.[16] She avoided the media and met with mayors and local business owners in her riding to get a grasp of her new constituents.[29] When discussing her political career, Monk said, "There were many people in the media and political backrooms who didn’t think or frankly wanted her to succeed."[15]

When Brosseau officially opened her constituency office in Louiseville in July 2011 her French was described as "still hesitant".[30] Le Nouvelliste described her as speaking "increasingly fluid French" in December. Brosseau stated that her constituency offices functioned "100% in French" and that she continued to take lessons three times a week.[11] By April 2012 the Canadian Press stated that "original claims about her lack of proficiency in the language now appear exaggerated". It reported that the rumours about Brosseau's lack of proficiency in French benefited her, as many constituents believed that she was a monolingual anglophone when elected and were amazed by her apparently rapidly improving French. Brosseau said that she grew up speaking French as a child, and understood the language, but did not feel comfortable speaking it during the campaign because she had been out of practice.[31][15][17] By 2015 Chatelaine described Brosseau as being fluently bilingual,[9] and TVA Nouvelles said that she spoke "a French almost without an accent".[23]

On April 19, 2012, the new NDP leader, Tom Mulcair, named Brosseau to be deputy agriculture critic in the NDP's shadow cabinet.[32] On April 3, 2014, she was elected as vice-chair of the NDP National Caucus.[15]

Brosseau earned praise from her caucus colleagues and the national media, with Malcolm Allen remarking that "lots of MPs work hard, but she has a great work ethic".[15] As a single mother, she often raised issues faced by those in a similar position during parliamentary debates.[29] Chatelaine said in 2015 that, despite early criticism, "the 31-year-old has quietly evolved into an effective and highly regarded politician".[9] In 2013, Brosseau became the NDP's lead on the student loan data breach, in part because she was personally impacted by the incident.[33]

Brosseau championed local causes important to her riding such as high repair costs to fix defective home foundations built with pyrrhotite mixed in with concrete,[34] an issue that she brought up 70 times in the 41st Parliament. Although she never managed to get the Harper government to join the provincial government in providing compensation, she and fellow NDP MP Robert Aubin were credited with influencing Justin Trudeau's promise that a Liberal government would do so.[16]

2015 election and 42nd Parliament

In 2014, Brosseau announced that she would be a candidate in the 2015 federal election. Speaking with Mark Kennedy of the Ottawa Citizen, Brosseau spoke about the difficulties she faced during her first years as an MP, but noted, "It took a while to kind of get my feet planted, set up an office, learn what the job was. The negativity only encouraged me to work harder".[17] While the NDP's Quebec caucus was reduced to 16 seats during the election, Brosseau was one of the few NDP MPs elected in 2011 who not only kept their seats, but also increased their vote share, winning re-election with 42% of the vote (almost 3% more than her first election) and almost 10,000 votes over her nearest opponent.[29][34] The New York Times attributed Brosseau's reelection to her focus on the pyrrhotite issue.[16]

Brosseau was appointed the NDP critic for Agriculture and Agri-food in the 42nd Canadian Parliament.[35]

In May 2016, an incident in the House of Commons arose where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accidentally hit Brosseau in the chest. The situation arose after Trudeau was attempting to lead Conservative Whip Gord Brown to his seat so a scheduled vote could take place.[36][37] Leading up to the incident dubbed "Elbowgate", the Opposition parties had accused the government trying to ram Bill C-14 through the House and Senate, using various strategies like assigning a time limit to debate and giving enormous powers to ministers. Brosseau rose in the House on a point of personal privilege and placed a description of the incident into the Hansard by describing the incident on the record, and Trudeau apologized more than once, indicating his lack of intention to hurt anyone.[38][39] The following day, Brosseau said she had become a target of personal attacks, saying that her office received a number of phone calls from members of the public criticising her over the incident.[40] Senior figures and colleagues from both the Liberal and Conservative parties subsequently came to her defence.[41] It was referred to in the House of Commons as "the matter of the physical molestation of the Member from Berthier—Maskinongé".[42]

In January 2018, newly elected NDP leader Jagmeet Singh named her as the NDP House leader.[43] She was succeeded in March 2019 by Peter Julian, her predecessor in the prior year.[44]

2019 election

In the October 21, 2019 general election, the NDP lost all their remaining seats in Quebec except Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, represented by party regional lieutenant Alexandre Boulerice. Brosseau lost to Bloc Québécois candidate Yves Perron, who had previously challenged her in 2015. In 2019, he won 21,007 votes (37.4%) to her 19,500 (34.7%).[45]

2021 election

On August 27, 2021, Brosseau announced that she was running for the 2021 federal election.[46] She came in a close second in a rematch with Perron, losing by just under 1,000 votes.

La Candidate, a television series inspired in part by Brosseau's experience, was announced as going into production in 2022 with Catherine Chabot in the lead role.[47]

Electoral record

2021 Canadian federal election: Berthier—Maskinongé
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
Bloc QuébécoisYves Perron19,13335.22-2.40$21,700.43
New DemocraticRuth Ellen Brosseau18,20033.50-1.45$106,147.42
LiberalAlexandre Bellemare8,26415.21+1.38$5,445.75
ConservativeLéo Soulières5,96310.98+0.67$5,344.17
People'sGeneviève Sénécal1,4892.74+1.98$315.35
GreenLaurence Requilé5461.01-0.78$0.00
FreeDenis Brown5290.97$1,306.74
MarijuanaSteven Lamirande1990.37+0.18$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 54,323––$115,385.75
Total rejected ballots
Turnout 54,32363.08
Registered voters 86,119
Source: Elections Canada[48]
2019 Canadian federal election: Berthier—Maskinongé
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
Bloc QuébécoisYves Perron21,20037.62+11.82none listed
New DemocraticRuth Ellen Brosseau19,69834.95-7.22$35,745.36
LiberalChristine Poirier7,79613.83-6.45$33,806.20
ConservativeJosée Bélanger5,81210.31+0.11$13,544.45
GreenÉric Laferrière1,0081.79+0.23none listed
People'sLuc Massé4280.76–$3,303.24
IndependentAlain Bélanger1540.27–none listed
RhinocerosMartin Acetaria Caesar Jubinville1510.27–none listed
MarijuanaDanny Légaré1070.19–none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 56,354100.0 
Total rejected ballots 9771.16+0.14
Turnout 57,33168.01+1.87
Eligible voters 84,301
Bloc Québécois gain from New Democratic Swing +9.52
Source: Elections Canada[49][50]
2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticRuth Ellen Brosseau22,94242.24%+2.61$41,378.43
Bloc QuébécoisYves Perron13,96925.72%−3.66$54,785.38
LiberalPierre Destrempes11,02820.31%+6.02$16,329.10
ConservativeMarianne Foucrault5,52710.18%−3.76$7,559.45
GreenVictoria Cate May Burton8441.55%−0.55$0
Total valid votes/Expense limit –100.0   $218,838.34
Total rejected ballots –––
Turnout 54,31066.14%–
Eligible voters 82,109
Source: Elections Canada[51][52]
2011 Canadian federal election: Berthier—Maskinongé
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticRuth Ellen Brosseau22,48439.63+29.19$0
Bloc QuébécoisGuy André16,66829.38−16.45$48,739
LiberalFrancine Gaudet8,10914.29−4.15$32,253
ConservativeMarie-Claude Godue7,90913.94−8.25$23,495
GreenLéonie Matteau1,1932.10−1.01$0
RhinocerosMartin Jubinville3750.66$0
Total votes/expense limit 56,738100.0   $94,930
Source: "Berthier—Maskinongé election results". Elections Canada. May 2, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.

References

  1. 1 2 Taber, Jane (20 May 2011). "'Vegas girl' acknowledges her luck, embraces new challenges in Ottawa". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  2. ↑ Shingler, Benjamin (7 May 2011). "NDP's Brosseau admits she's never been to riding". Toronto Star. Canadian Press. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Video: When will Ruth Ellen meet the press?". The Globe and Mail. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Brosseau speaks to media, says victory was a "shock"". CTV News. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 "New Democrat doesn't have diploma, despite inclusion in biography". The Globe and Mail. 10 May 2011.
  6. ↑ "How will Layton's new MPs take to Ottawa?". CTV News. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Ruth Ellen Brosseau candidate profile". New Democratic Party of Canada. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  8. ↑ Stone, Laura (28 November 2014). "Lunch with NDP's Ruth Ellen Brosseau: Harassment 'happens everywhere' – even Parliament Hill". Global News. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Giese, Rachel (27 July 2015). "Ruth Ellen Brosseau: from 'Vegas Girl' to NDP vice-chair". Chatelaine. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  10. ↑ Woods, Allan; Smith, Joanna (4 May 2011). "Reality show stars, students, museum guides: meet the new NDP MPs". Toronto Star. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  11. 1 2 Gauthier, Vincent (28 December 2011). "La rocambolesque épopée de Ruth Ellen Brosseau". Le Nouvelliste (in French). Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Election 2019: Star NDP candidate a casualty of Bloc's surge in popularity". Montreal Gazette. October 22, 2019.
  13. ↑ Ross, Selena; Kassam, Iman (September 21, 2021). "Ruth Ellen Brosseau's attempted comeback, after two years running a farm, is too close to call". CTV News. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  14. ↑ McMahon, Tamsin (4 May 2011). "The Really New Democrats". National Post. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Barton, Rosemary (14 May 2014). "Brosseau's rise from paper candidate to NDP star". CBC News. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Austen, Ian (26 October 2015). "Accidental Lawmaker in Canada Defies Critics, and Liberal Party Resurgence". New York Times. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 Kennedy, Mark (22 December 2014). "Q & A: Brosseau flourishes in Commons after rough start as 'Vegas girl'". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  18. ↑ Curry, Bill (26 April 2011). "NDP candidate takes mid-campaign vacation in Vegas". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  19. ↑ Theodore, Terri (27 April 2011). "Lack of fixed election dates to blame for vacationing NDP candidates: Layton". ipolitics.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  20. ↑ Hamilton, Graeme; McMahon, Tamsin (27 April 2011). "NDP surge means some unlikely candidates have a shot at Parliament". National Post. Toronto. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "Berthier—Maskinongé election results". Elections Canada. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  22. ↑ Chung, Andrew (28 April 2011). "In French-speaking riding, NDP candidate speaks little French". Toronto Star. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  23. 1 2 Cloutier, Jean-François (20 October 2015). "Ruth Ellen Brosseau résiste à la vague rouge". TVA Nouvelles (in French). Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  24. ↑ Montpetit, Jonathan (3 May 2011). "NDP's gang of rookies includes four McGill students, 19-year-old, Vegas visitor". The Record. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  25. 1 2 "Libs, Tories protest controversial NDP MP's win, but won't challenge it in court". CityNews. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  26. ↑ Minsky, Amy (7 May 2011). "New MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau cleared by Elections Canada". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  27. ↑ Tu Thanh Ha; Séguin, Rhéal (4 May 2011). "Rookie NDP MP accused of using falsified nomination paper". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  28. ↑ Boesveld, Sarah; Bencharif, Sarah-Taissir (4 May 2011). "NDP MP Thomas Mulcair questions Bin Laden pictures". National Post. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  29. 1 2 3 Kors, Alan (20 October 2015). "Former Carleton pub worker Brosseau re-elected in Quebec riding". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  30. ↑ Jacob, Guillaume (23 July 2011). "Ruth-Ellen Brosseau inaugure son bureau". Le Nouvelliste (in French). Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  31. ↑ Blatchford, Andy (23 April 2012). "NDP's 'Vegas' MP one year later: She's speaking French and planning to run again". The Chronicle Herald. Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  32. ↑ "Mulcair names NDP shadow cabinet". CBC News. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  33. ↑ Press, Jordan (17 February 2013). "Student loan data breach affects NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau". Ottawa Citizen. canada.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  34. 1 2 O'Connor, Joe (22 October 2015). "Canada's unlikeliest MP: Ruth Ellen Brosseau went from 'Vegas Girl' to NDP success story". National Post. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  35. ↑ Kirkup, Kristy (12 November 2015). "Tom Mulcair taps Nathan Cullen, Charlie Angus, Guy Caron for top critic roles". CBC News. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  36. ↑ MacCharles, Tonda (18 May 2016). "Justin Trudeau 'manhandled' MP in Commons uproar, opposition says". Toronto Star. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  37. ↑ Ap, Tiffany. "Canada PM Trudeau apologizes for manhandling". CNN. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  38. ↑ Slaughter, Graham (18 May 2016). "Trudeau accused of pushing, elbowing opposition MPs in House". CTV News. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  39. ↑ Tasker, John Paul (18 May 2016). "Justin Trudeau's elbowing incident leaves House in an uproar". CBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  40. ↑ Kirkup, Kristy (20 May 2016). "Ruth Ellen Brosseau target of personal attacks since being elbowed by Trudeau". CBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  41. ↑ "Ruth Ellen Brosseau: Liberals And Conservatives All Jump To MP's Defence". The Huffington Post Canada. The Canadian Press. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  42. ↑ "Question of privilege related to the matter of the physical molestation of the Member from Berthier—Maskinongé". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  43. ↑ "Ruth Ellen Brosseau devient leader parlementaire du NPD". TVA Nouvelles (in Canadian French). 25 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  44. ↑ "Jagmeet Singh shuffles NDP critics as he prepares to enter House". iPost.ca. 14 March 2019.
  45. ↑ "Federal election 2019 live results". CBC.ca.
  46. ↑ @RE_Brosseau (August 27, 2021). "Mes ami-es, je me suis ennuyée de vous. J'ai une grande nouvelle à vous annoncer : j'ai encore le goût d'être votr…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  47. ↑ "Catherine Chabot en « candidate poteau » dans la série La candidate". Ici Radio-Canada, October 19, 2022.
  48. ↑ "Confirmed candidates — Berthier—Maskinongé". Elections Canada. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  49. ↑ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  50. ↑ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  51. ↑ "Who are the candidates in my electoral district? Berthier--Maskinongé (Quebec)". Elections Canada. 30 September 2015.
  52. ↑ "Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on 2015-08-15. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
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