As the NDP seeks to gain ground in Quebec, Ruth Ellen Brosseau is aiming to reclaim her old seat.
The former member of Parliament for Berthier—Maskinongé declared Friday that she will compete for the party in the federal election.
She told reporters, “To be honest with you, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about federal politics and the people of Berthier—Maskinongé.”
Brosseau served eight years as a member of the Trois-Rivières riding. She was originally elected in 2011 as part of the so-called “orange wave,” when the New Democrats swept the province.
As a greenhorn candidate, Brosseau’s landslide victory came as a surprise. She was criticized at the time for spending part of the election campaign in Las Vegas and having never visited the riding. Allegations also spread that Brosseau couldn’t speak French, even though the constituency was 98 per cent francophone.
Brosseau, on the other hand, ascended through the ranks of the NDP, eventually becoming the official opposition’s agriculture critic and vice chair of the national caucus. She also took French courses in order to strengthen her linguistic skills.
The two-term incumbent was later defeated by Yves Perron of the Bloc Québécois in the 2019 election. In Quebec, where Alexandre Boulerice was the party’s sole candidate to gain a seat, the NDP was nearly wiped out.
On Sept. 20, Perron will run for re-election. The Conservative Party’s candidate is Leo Soulieres, while the Liberal Party’s candidate is Alexandre Bellemare. The candidate for the People’s Party of Canada is Geneviève Sénécal.
Source_ The Canadian Press
