Ruth Ellen Brosseau, the face of the ‘orange wave,’ to run for NDP in Quebec

By: Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press Posted: 10:53 AM CDT Sunday, Apr. 6, 2025 Last Modified: 3:03 PM CDT Sunday, Apr. 6, 2025

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MONTREAL - Ruth Ellen Brosseau is attempting a political comeback in Quebec, 14 years after she won a surprise victory as a federal New Democrat and became the face of the "orange wave."

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MONTREAL - Ruth Ellen Brosseau is attempting a political comeback in Quebec, 14 years after she won a surprise victory as a federal New Democrat and became the face of the "orange wave."

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MONTREAL – Ruth Ellen Brosseau is attempting a political comeback in Quebec, 14 years after she won a surprise victory as a federal New Democrat and became the face of the “orange wave.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Sunday that Brosseau has declared her candidacy in Berthier-Maskinongé, a riding she once held that stretches along the St. Lawrence River between the Montreal suburbs and Trois-Rivières.

Brosseau had never set foot in her riding before becoming its MP in 2011 — one of 59 NDP candidates to win a seat in Quebec under then-leader Jack Layton that year.

Candidate Ruth Ellen Brosseau responds to a question as NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh looks on during a campaign stop in Yamachiche, Quebec on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Brosseau went on to become the party’s agriculture critic and win again in 2015 before losing to president of the Bloc Québécois Yves Perron in 2019 and again in 2021, that time by fewer than 1,000 votes.

Brosseau told The Canadian Press that while she has been working on a farm with her partner over the past few years, she never stopped thinking about politics.

“I think once you’re in politics and you love it, I think it always kind of stays with you in a way,” she said. “You can’t really take the politics out of somebody, so I think it’s kind of been a long time coming.”

Brosseau said she wants to run again because she hears from “anxious” people in her community.

“With everything that’s going on right now… I wanted to put my name forward once again to try to be the voice for the people of Berthier-Maskinongé because there’s a lot of positive things that I think we should be doing,” she said.

The NDP is struggling in the polls as U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty drive many voters to the Liberals.

A recent Leger poll, which was conducted online and can’t be assigned a margin of error, had the Liberals leading at 44 per cent. The poll, which surveyed people from March 26 to March 31, had the Conservatives at 38 per cent and the NDP at only seven per cent.

Brosseau pointed out that the polls weren’t looking good for the NDP when she won her seat the first time.

“What’s important is what happens on the 28th,” she said. “I don’t put too much weight into polls. It’s the community organizing that’s going to make a difference.”

— With files from Catherine Morrison in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2025.