Ruth Ellen Brosseau
Encyclopedia
Ruth Ellen Brosseau is a Canadian
politician. She was elected to the Canadian House of Commons
as a New Democratic Party
candidate in the 2011 federal election.
until the younger Brosseau reached grade 2. From there, the family moved to Kingston, Ontario
, where she continued to take French immersion classes.
Brosseau attended St. Lawrence College
in Kingston. Her online biography initially indicated that she graduated from the college, but it was later clarified that she left before graduating, while being two credits short of completing her diploma. The NDP issued a statement that Brosseau had never claimed to have received a diploma, adding, "When her bio was posted on our website, a party staffer inadvertently changed the wording. We apologize for posting this information in error and regret any inconvenience this has caused Ms. Brosseau." She is also an animal welfare activist who has worked to find homes for stray animals and help injured animals recover.
As of May 2011, Brosseau is a single mother who resides in Gatineau
, Quebec
. Brosseau held the position of assistant manager for Oliver's Pub, a bar on the campus of Carleton University
in Ottawa
.
Brosseau ran for a seat to the Canadian House of Commons
in the 2011 federal election. She stood 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, decided to run in Bourassa
instead (where she lost).
Initially, Brosseau was considered a paper candidate
who had been selected by the party due to the lack of a viable local nominee. She never put a serious campaign together and never went to the riding, which straddles the regions of Lanaudière
and Mauricie
, during the writ period. However, on election night, Brosseau defeated incumbent Bloc Québécois
Member of Parliament Guy André
, former provincial Liberal MNA Francine Gaudet
and three other candidates, winning with a plurality of 5,735 votes and taking just under 40% of all the votes cast. André finished a distant second, with only 29.4 percent of the vote. Her victory was part of a wave of NDP support in Quebec, a province in which the party has historically not done well. The NDP increased its standing in the province from one seat in Montreal
to a surprising total of 59.
Brosseau's victory was one of the biggest upsets of the 2011 election. Central Quebec, which includes Berthier–Maskinongé, has historically been a very nationalist
region, a factor which made it a Bloc stronghold for nearly two decades. Most of the riding's residents had been represented by Bloc MPs since the Bloc's 54-seat breakthrough in 1993. Previously, the NDP had never finished higher than fourth in the riding's present incarnation (dating to 2004), and every previous NDP challenger had lost his or her deposit.
Significant concerns had been raised about her proficiency in French, especially given the fact that 98 percent of Berthier-Maskinongé's residents are francophone and 77 percent of them don't speak English. Of the NDP's Quebec MPs, she was the only one who did not fluently speak French at the time the writs were dropped
. Early in the campaign, she granted an interview with CHHO-FM in Louiseville
, but station officials opted not to air it due to concerns about the quality of her French.When asked about his daughter's French proficiency, her father, Marc Brosseau, said that "The quality of (her) French is good. It's just if she wants to rise to the occasion, she speaks it, but let's just say it's not at a high proficiency level."
Brosseau did not address the media or take questions from reporters for several days after her election. Her father felt that her silence was an act of caution. "There's so much bad publicity that's surrounded all of this, and there's so much misinformation. She wants to make sure that when it does come out, it'll come out properly. This is maybe another stage in her life that's gonna put her in a whole new different sphere."
At a press conference held the day after Brosseau's election, NDP co-deputy leader and Quebec lieutenant
Thomas Mulcair
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." He also said that he was willing to handle most of Berthier-Maskinongé's constituency issues in the short term.
On May 6, Brosseau gave her first interview since being elected, with Le Nouvelliste
of Trois-Rivières
. Brosseau acknowledged that she had not expected to be elected and that she had not been to her new riding, but planned to go there soon. The Globe and Mail noted that the interview was conducted "almost entirely in English." Earlier, the NDP sent an automated telephone message introducing Brosseau to her new constituents, in which she spoke in "rehearsed and passable French".
On May 11, she made her first public appearance in her new riding. She attended a museum opening in Lavaltrie
where she made a speech in French. She also met with the mayors of Lavaltrie, Louiseville and Trois-Rivières and was granted an interview with Trois-Rivières television station CHEM-TV
, also in French.
By the time the new Parliament opened, Brosseau listed both English and French as her preferred languages on the Commons floor.
On July 22, Brosseau officially opened her constituency office in Louiseville; her French was described as "still hesitant".
. Her trip had been arranged prior to the election being called. By the time the writ was dropped, it was too late to reschedule. NDP leader Jack Layton
defended Brosseau's decision to vacation in Vegas, pinning the blame on Harper not keeping his promise on fixed election dates
. 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."
Two days after the election, allegations were made by both the defeated Liberal
and Conservative
candidates about irregularities on Brosseau's nomination papers. While each party has the chance to vet each other's nomination papers before the election, the other parties chose not to vet Brosseau's papers because no one believed she had a realistic chance of winning. The local Liberal and Conservative associations have called for a by-election, but Elections Canada has ruled that only a court can order new elections. Both parties subsequently declined to file a formal court challenge.
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."
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician. She was elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
as a New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
candidate in the 2011 federal election.
Early life
Brosseau's father, Marc, is a francophone who is also fluent in English. The Brosseau family lived in Hudson, QuebecHudson, Quebec
Hudson, Quebec, Canada, is a town with a population of 5,088 on the south-west bank of the lower Ottawa River, in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. Situated about west of downtown Montreal, many residents commute to work on the Island of Montreal.- Location and...
until the younger Brosseau reached grade 2. From there, the family moved to Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, where she continued to take French immersion classes.
Brosseau attended St. Lawrence College
St. Lawrence College, Ontario
St. Lawrence College is a College of Applied Arts and Technology with three campuses in Eastern Ontario, namely Brockville , Cornwall and Kingston .-History:...
in Kingston. Her online biography initially indicated that she graduated from the college, but it was later clarified that she left before graduating, while being two credits short of completing her diploma. The NDP issued a statement that Brosseau had never claimed to have received a diploma, adding, "When her bio was posted on our website, a party staffer inadvertently changed the wording. We apologize for posting this information in error and regret any inconvenience this has caused Ms. Brosseau." She is also an animal welfare activist who has worked to find homes for stray animals and help injured animals recover.
As of May 2011, Brosseau is a single mother who resides in Gatineau
Gatineau
Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Brosseau held the position of assistant manager for Oliver's Pub, a bar on the campus of Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
.
Political career
| 2011 Canadian federal election results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berthier—Maskinongé Berthier—Maskinongé Berthier—Maskinongé is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1953, from 1968 to 1988, and since 2004... |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
NDP New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in... |
Ruth Ellen Brosseau | 22,484 | 39.63% |
Bloc Québécois Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative... |
Guy André Guy André Guy André was a Bloc Québécois member of the Canadian House of Commons from the riding of Berthier—Maskinongé.... |
16,668 | 29.38% |
Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative... |
Francine Gaudet Francine Gaudet Francine Gaudet is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. She was a Quebec Liberal Party Member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 2003 to 2007, and the federal Liberal Party candidate for Berthier—Maskinongé in the 2011 federal election.... |
8,109 | 14.29% |
Conservative Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum... |
Marie-Claude Godue | 7,909 | 13.94% |
Green Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and... |
Léonie Matteau | 1,193 | 2.10% |
Rhinoceros | Martin Jubinville | 375 | 0.66% | |
| Total | 56,738 | 100.00% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brosseau ran for a seat to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
in the 2011 federal election. She stood as the New Democratic Party candidate in the electoral district of Berthier—Maskinongé
Berthier—Maskinongé
Berthier—Maskinongé is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1953, from 1968 to 1988, and since 2004...
in central Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. She was the second nomination choice of the party as the original candidate, Julie Demers, decided to run in Bourassa
Bourassa (electoral district)
Bourassa is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968...
instead (where she lost).
Initially, Brosseau was considered a paper candidate
Paper candidate
In a representative democracy, the term paper candidate is often given to a candidate who stands for a political party in an electoral division where the party in question enjoys only low levels of support...
who had been selected by the party due to the lack of a viable local nominee. She never put a serious campaign together and never went to the riding, which straddles the regions of Lanaudière
Lanaudière
Lanaudière is one of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada, situated immediately to the northeast of Montreal. It has a total population of 429,053 inhabitants.-Geography:...
and Mauricie
Mauricie
Mauricie is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making it a prime tourist location. The region has a land area of 35,855.22 km² and a 2006 census population of 258,928 residents...
, during the writ period. However, on election night, Brosseau defeated incumbent Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
Member of Parliament Guy André
Guy André
Guy André was a Bloc Québécois member of the Canadian House of Commons from the riding of Berthier—Maskinongé....
, former provincial Liberal MNA Francine Gaudet
Francine Gaudet
Francine Gaudet is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. She was a Quebec Liberal Party Member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 2003 to 2007, and the federal Liberal Party candidate for Berthier—Maskinongé in the 2011 federal election....
and three other candidates, winning with a plurality of 5,735 votes and taking just under 40% of all the votes cast. André finished a distant second, with only 29.4 percent of the vote. Her victory was part of a wave of NDP support in Quebec, a province in which the party has historically not done well. The NDP increased its standing in the province from one seat in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to a surprising total of 59.
Brosseau's victory was one of the biggest upsets of the 2011 election. Central Quebec, which includes Berthier–Maskinongé, has historically been a very nationalist
Quebec nationalism
Quebec nationalism is a nationalist movement in the Canadian province of Quebec .-1534–1774:Canada was first a french colony. Jacques Cartier claimed it for France in 1534, and permanent French settlement began in 1608. It was part of New France, which constituted all French colonies in North America...
region, a factor which made it a Bloc stronghold for nearly two decades. Most of the riding's residents had been represented by Bloc MPs since the Bloc's 54-seat breakthrough in 1993. Previously, the NDP had never finished higher than fourth in the riding's present incarnation (dating to 2004), and every previous NDP challenger had lost his or her deposit.
Significant concerns had been raised about her proficiency in French, especially given the fact that 98 percent of Berthier-Maskinongé's residents are francophone and 77 percent of them don't speak English. Of the NDP's Quebec MPs, she was the only one who did not fluently speak French at the time the writs were dropped
Dropping the writ
Dropping the writ is the informal term for a procedure in some parliamentary government systems, where the head of government goes to the head of state and formally advises him or her to dissolve parliament...
. Early in the campaign, she granted an interview with CHHO-FM in Louiseville
Louiseville, Quebec
Louiseville is a town in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. It is located near the mouth of the Wolf River on the north shore of Lac Saint-Pierre....
, but station officials opted not to air it due to concerns about the quality of her French.When asked about his daughter's French proficiency, her father, Marc Brosseau, said that "The quality of (her) French is good. It's just if she wants to rise to the occasion, she speaks it, but let's just say it's not at a high proficiency level."
Brosseau did not address the media or take questions from reporters for several days after her election. Her father felt that her silence was an act of caution. "There's so much bad publicity that's surrounded all of this, and there's so much misinformation. She wants to make sure that when it does come out, it'll come out properly. This is maybe another stage in her life that's gonna put her in a whole new different sphere."
At a press conference held the day after Brosseau's election, NDP co-deputy leader and Quebec lieutenant
Quebec lieutenant
In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a politician, from Quebec, usually a francophone and most often a Member of Parliament or at least a current or former candidate for Parliament, who is selected by a senior politician such as the Prime Minister or the leader of a national federal party,...
Thomas Mulcair
Thomas Mulcair
Thomas J. "Tom" Mulcair is a Canadian lawyer, university professor, and politician. He is the federal Member of Parliament for Outremont, Quebec, Canada, and currently holds a seat in the New Democratic Party of Canada...
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." He also said that he was willing to handle most of Berthier-Maskinongé's constituency issues in the short term.
On May 6, Brosseau gave her first interview since being elected, with Le Nouvelliste
Le Nouvelliste (Quebec)
Le Nouvelliste is the Mauricie regional newspaper, based in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. It is part of the Gesca media conglomerate. It was part of the Parizeau Affair, a political affair of the 2003 Quebec general election.-External links:*...
of Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières means three rivers in French and may refer to:in Canada*Trois-Rivières, the largest city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada*Circuit Trois-Rivières, a racetrack in Trois-Rivières, Quebec...
. Brosseau acknowledged that she had not expected to be elected and that she had not been to her new riding, but planned to go there soon. The Globe and Mail noted that the interview was conducted "almost entirely in English." Earlier, the NDP sent an automated telephone message introducing Brosseau to her new constituents, in which she spoke in "rehearsed and passable French".
On May 11, she made her first public appearance in her new riding. She attended a museum opening in Lavaltrie
Lavaltrie, Quebec
Lavaltrie is a city located within the D'Autray Regional County Municipality in the southern part of the region of Lanaudière, Quebec, Canada, northeast of Montreal outside of the suburban sprawl of the northern crown...
where she made a speech in French. She also met with the mayors of Lavaltrie, Louiseville and Trois-Rivières and was granted an interview with Trois-Rivières television station CHEM-TV
CHEM-TV
CHEM-TV is a Canadian television station. It is the TVA owned and operated station in Trois-Rivières, Quebec.The station was founded on August 29, 1976 and was owned by Telemedia. It was originally a semi-satellite of CHLT-TV in Sherbrooke, and has been a TVA station for its entire existence. ...
, also in French.
By the time the new Parliament opened, Brosseau listed both English and French as her preferred languages on the Commons floor.
On July 22, Brosseau officially opened her constituency office in Louiseville; her French was described as "still hesitant".
Controversies and criticism
During the 2011 federal election, Brosseau raised controversy when it was learned that she had spent part of the campaign on vacation in Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. Her trip had been arranged prior to the election being called. By the time the writ was dropped, it was too late to reschedule. NDP leader Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
defended Brosseau's decision to vacation in Vegas, pinning the blame on Harper not keeping his promise on fixed election dates
Fixed-term election
A Fixed-term election is an election that occurs on a set date, and cannot be changed by the incumbent politician.Fixed-term elections are common for most mayors and for directly elected governors and presidents, but less common for prime ministers and parliaments in a parliamentary system of...
. An op-ed in the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
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."
Two days after the election, allegations were made by both the defeated Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
and Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
candidates about irregularities on Brosseau's nomination papers. While each party has the chance to vet each other's nomination papers before the election, the other parties chose not to vet Brosseau's papers because no one believed she had a realistic chance of winning. The local Liberal and Conservative associations have called for a by-election, but Elections Canada has ruled that only a court can order new elections. Both parties subsequently declined to file a formal court challenge.
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."