15°c Clear
28°c Isolated showers
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
'Vegas' MP's whirlwind
A year later, NDP's Brosseau growing into her role
Paul Chiasson / The Canadian Press NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau has been discussing pyrite and float-plane issues lately. (CP)
LOUISEVILLE, Que. -- Spend a day with rookie NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau and witness the degree to which someone's life can change in 12 months.
It was a year ago this week Brosseau was making regular phone calls home from Las Vegas, where she was celebrating her 27th birthday under the bright lights of Sin City.
Those calls brought news that turned her life upside down.
"Of course being a mom, I called home all the time and spoke to my son and my family," Brosseau told The Canadian Press.
"They were kind of like: 'There's, um, stuff going on here, you're kind of in the news a bit for going on your trip.' "
Brosseau, then a campus-bar manager in Ottawa, was hit with a stunner. Her name and photo were splashed all over the national news during Canada's ongoing federal election campaign, during which she emerged as a poster child for the NDP's improbable Quebec surge.
Little did she know roughly one year later, she would be spending a busy day in a rural Quebec riding -- a place to which she had no personal connection -- discussing pyrite, float planes, federal summer jobs and an art exhibition with local constituents.
Entering that campaign a year ago, even the term 'underdog' would have been charitable to describe Brosseau and a few dozen other Quebec NDP candidates.
She hadn't knocked on doors, hadn't spent a dime on her campaign and had never even set foot in the riding she was vying for.
Allegations also spread Brosseau couldn't speak French, even though the constituency was 98 per cent francophone.
But a so-called "orange wave" rolled in around the same time Brosseau was on that late-April trip. A few days later, that wave swept her to victory in the Berthier-Maskinonge riding, in what was perhaps the biggest upset of the election.
Since the May 2 election, the single mom has been earning an annual salary $157,000 as an MP in the House of Commons.
That turn of events also prompted a rather rapid reorganization of her life.
"(The) election was kind of, 'Wow, what do I do now?' " she said of that surprising win over veteran Bloc Quebecois incumbent Guy Andre.
"I knew it was a possibility, I just didn't think it was possible."
The Canadian Press followed Brosseau last week in her riding, where she met with constituents and fielded French questions from local journalists at a news conference.
She appears to have grown into her new job and, given the French lessons she's been taking, original claims about her lack of proficiency in the language now appear exaggerated.
Brosseau, who turns 28 on Thursday, insists she learned French as a child, but it was rusty and she didn't have the confidence to express herself comfortably last spring.
In a twist, the rumours about her struggles with French are now working in her favour -- many locals still believe she was a unilingual anglophone just a year ago.
Several people remarked last week about how impressed they were with her progress, with some crediting her quick mastery of the language for winning them over.
The media's interest in Brosseau still appears to be strong in the region.
Around a dozen journalists showed up last week for one of Brosseau's first news conferences in the riding.
Brosseau says she enjoys talking with people and fighting for their interests. With this increasing taste for politics, she plans to run again in 2015.
"I definitely got bit by the bug," she said.
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 23, 2012 A8
More Canada
- Back to Top
- Return to Canada
Poll
Most Popular Canada
- Fast and curious driver caught going 221 km/h loses car, nets double the fine
- Senate's hired motivational speakers scrubbed after planned pep talk goes public
- Next! Montreal seeks yet another mayor after second one quits in scandal
- Corruption in Quebec: A blow-by-blow account
- 'Shocking' half of First Nations kids living in poverty, new study finds
- Hike in disclosure for public servants should apply to unions too: Liberals
- Harper lauds G8 declaration on Syrian conflict despite lack of consensus
- Ottawa says man was Asian crime gang member and should be kicked out of Canada
- More controversy in Montreal: three police officers suspended amid RCMP probe
- Montreal's new mayor in hot water
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Montreal's interim mayor, a self-styled corruption fighter, faces fraud charges
- Marois defends turban ban
- Canadian woman, daughter caught smuggling $59,000 in bras, border agents say
- Woman charged after drink tossed at embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford
- Questions about Mayor Rob Ford overshadow news of huge police raids
- Trudeau to compensate charities that paid him to help raise money
- Fast and curious driver caught going 221 km/h loses car, nets double the fine
- Training manuals for Parliament guides boost Senate, praise two-party system
- Woman run over three times by her own car
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Controversy around Toronto mayor Rob Ford continues to grow
- Glover, Bezan fight suspension from Parliament
- Alleged Rob Ford drug video 'gone,' source tells Gawker
- Gawker hits $200K for 'crack cocaine' video as mayor's senior aides resign
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Two men now facing first-degree murder charges in Tim Bosma test drive death
- 'I am not stepping aside,' Mayor Rob Ford says, as 'crack video' scandal rages
- Mother cries, yells as driver appears in court charged with killing boy on patio
- Senate's hired motivational speakers scrubbed after planned pep talk goes public
- 'Shocking' half of First Nations kids living in poverty, new study finds
- Fast and curious driver caught going 221 km/h loses car, nets double the fine
- Alberta judge calls killing of sleeping five-year-old 'domestic terrorism'
- Force used on protester reasonable: cop's lawyer
- Harper lauds G8 declaration on Syrian conflict despite lack of consensus
- Next! Montreal seeks yet another mayor after second one quits in scandal
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Senate's hired motivational speakers scrubbed after planned pep talk goes public
- 'Shocking' half of First Nations kids living in poverty, new study finds
- B.C. is 'in the risk zone' for mega-earthquake along the coast: study
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Feds want to extend blanket of permanent secrecy over 11 new agencies
- Canadian and American missing for nearly two weeks in Mexico
- Squirrel takes whirl in toilet; woman rescues rodent with barbecue tongs
- Wendy's 9-patty burger extinct
- Training manuals for Parliament guides boost Senate, praise two-party system
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Glover, Bezan fight suspension from Parliament
- Woman run over three times by her own car
- Ottawa threatens 'retaliatory measures' over new U.S. meat labelling regulations
- Canadian and American missing for nearly two weeks in Mexico
- Banff officials hunt for cougar that man fought off with skateboard
- Harper government brings in new performance review system for public service
- Senate's hired motivational speakers scrubbed after planned pep talk goes public
- Up to one of every three members of new tribunal gave money to Conservatives
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.