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rfmcdonaldJane Taber's article in The Globe and Mail looking at the success of Ruth Ellen Brosseau, a NDP star who started from seemingly unauspicious beginnings.
With the nickname “Vegas girl,” Ruth Ellen Brosseau was something of a joke on Parliament Hill in the days after the 2011 general election, and it seemed her prospects for success were few.
She was the NDP candidate who famously went to Las Vegas to celebrate her 27th birthday in the midst of the election campaign – and then became part of the May vote’s so-called “orange wave,” in which the NDP increased its seat count from one to 59 in Quebec.
The single mother, who at the time was the assistant manager of a Carleton University bar, had never stepped foot in Berthier-Maskinongé, the Quebec riding for which she was suddenly the MP. Her French was rusty, she had no political experience, and had visited the Parliament buildings only on a school trip.
Overnight, Ms. Brosseau became the subject of intense media scrutiny. She was mocked – the attractive single mother was an easy target – and portrayed as someone not fit to be an MP. She was so much of a distraction that some people in the party wanted to cut her loose.
Today, Ms. Brosseau is the NDP agriculture critic – her riding has dairy and chicken farms – and vice-chair of caucus. She is bilingual, and a sought-after speaker on political organization.
Ms. Brosseau says she learned how to be an MP from Thomas Mulcair, who also represents a Quebec riding. She met with Mr. Mulcair, then the deputy leader, immediately after the 2011 election and he introduced her to mayors and other officials in her riding. She also studied French, and her first question in the Commons was in French.
She believes she has finally shaken off that demeaning nickname. “The girl from Vegas; the bartender; the anglophone in a francophone riding – but [now] she does speak really good French and she knows her issues. I think we are past that.”
