New MPs come from many walks of life

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This article was published 09/05/2011 (5475 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Car dealers, chiropractors and karate instructors help make up the crop of MPs headed to Ottawa.

There’s even going to be a “country gentleman” in the Commons.

Members of the 41st Parliament are a diverse lot. And while much has been made of all the newbie New Democrats, a glance through the CVs of freshly elected representatives turns up some interesting nuggets about their past lives.

Take Ryan Leef. The rookie MP from the Yukon sports an 0-2 record in professional mixed martial arts fights.

One fight Leef did win was against longtime Yukon Liberal MP Larry Bagnell. Now the 37-year-old Conservative can add MP to a resumé that already includes former wildlife guide, Mountie and a corrections officer.

He’s not the only fighter in the Commons. Two other rookie MPs list martial arts instructor as a former occupation: Conservative Dan Albas in Stockwell Day’s old British Columbia riding and New Democrat Mathieu Ravignat, who knocked cabinet minister Lawrence Cannon out of his seat in western Quebec.

A Canadian Press analysis of MPs’ profiles on the Parliament of Canada website found most elected officials — 76 of the 308 — describe themselves as entrepreneurs or businesspeople.

There were 44 lawyers, 29 politicos and 20 farmers in the lot. Another 22 had worked as journalists, broadcasters or as radio and TV hosts.

Thirty-eight MPs taught at a university, college, high school, elementary school or gave language lessons. Three more are medical doctors or physicians. Seven were police officers.

Two MPs rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Canadian Forces: Conservatives Laurie Hawn and Ted Opitz. Fellow Tory Gordon O’Connor made it to brigadier-general. The new Conservative MP for Pickering-Scarborough East, Corneliu Chisu, also served in the military.

Some MPs have less typical backgrounds.

Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux from Winnipeg worked as an air-traffic controller. Fellow Grit Marc Garneau was the first Canadian in space.

Newly minted Conservative MP Chris Alexander was Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan. But he’s not the only member of the Commons from the diplomatic corps. Hélène Laverdière of the New Democrats was a foreign service officer in Washington, Senegal and Chile.

Maybe some MPs could form a band? Five are musicians: New Democrats Charlie Angus, Robert Aubin, Andrew Cash and John Rafferty, along with Conservative Lois Brown. In fact, Angus and Cash did play together in 1980s punk band L’Etranger.

Perhaps the most unique occupation belongs to affable Nova Scotia NDP MP Peter Stoffer: “country gentleman.”

“Why not?” Stoffer said with a laugh.

“Everyone puts all these big, fancy things down. I figured, country gentleman, I had so many different jobs, let’s just put them all into one.”

The NDP is revelling in the diverse background of its new caucus, said veteran MP Olivia Chow. Combing through CVs of the party’s 58 newcomers in Quebec, she discovered incredible variety. “It’s exciting,” she said. “They’re from all walks of life.”

The MPs come from all over the world. Thirty-four were born outside Canada.

— The Canadian Press

Unite-the-left talk

comes to nothing

TALK of a “progressives” merger between the NDP and the Liberals has slipped into a deep coma.

Liberal MP Bob Rae mused publicly about such an option as the devastating results rolled in last Monday night.

But since then, the NDP has made a point of ignoring comments about a merger. Fellow Liberals say Rae has damaged his chances of leading the party by putting forward such an idea. And even he is backing away from his own utterings.

“It would be irresponsible not to listen to what Canadians think about this question,” Rae said in a recent interview.

But he added a merger “can never be about one party taking over another party. The discussion has to be about is there a possibility of a new, broader alliance. And if there is, fine. If there isn’t, that’s fine, too.”

Rae said on Friday he only commented on the merger possibility when asked about it by reporters.

In any case, for the foreseeable future, the discussion is going nowhere.

The NDP would much rather take its new power and harness it so it can focus on becoming a credible government in waiting, at first, and then going on to winning the next election.

“Right now, the momentum is obviously with the NDP,” said veteran New Democrat MP Libby Davies.

— The Canadian Press