Ruth Ellen Brosseau works ‘to prove them wrong’

NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau grabbed media attention when she was elected in the Quebec riding of Berthier-Maskinonge in May. She couldn’t speak French then, but now takes classes.

The National Post:

Ottawa • From a single mom getting by on a college barmaid’s wages to a parliamentarian earning $157,000 annually, New Democrat MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau has had a heck of a year.

Her ascent to Parliament Hill was mired in controversy, because of her subpar French skills and the poor optics of a planned trip she took to Las Vegas during the election campaign — which nobody expected her to win. Now the 27-year-old has put it all behind her to embrace the opportunity that landed in her lap.

“It was a big change and it was a difficult time, but I didn’t take it to heart. It just made me want to work harder,” she said in a year-end interview with Postmedia News. “With all the criticism I’ve had it just makes … my skin thicker. I just really want to prove them wrong.”

To that end, she immersed herself in French classes for three hours every week with her late leader Jack Layton’s teacher and her proficiency has improved such that she agreed to appear on the hit Quebec television show Tout le monde en parle on New Year’s Eve.

And despite no connection whatsoever to her largely francophone Quebec riding of Berthier-Maskinonge, Ms. Brosseau — who grew up in Hudson, Que., before moving to Kingston, Ont., in Grade 2 — rented an apartment in the region and returns every weekend. She spent the summer meeting local politicians in each of the 34 municipalities that extend along the St. Lawrence River and is now getting to know the non-profits and other organizations.

“I have an older population in my riding. They’re worried about getting their medicine, they’re worried about their pensions, they’re worked about making ends meet,” she said. “Also employment. There’s a lot of youth and there’s not much opportunity so they’ll leave to get an education, and we really want to try to keep them in the riding.”

These are not unfamiliar issues for Ms. Brosseau who comes from a working-class background. Her father Marc, who is now disabled, worked at a Montreal steel company before he was let go, while mother Michelle was a manager at the Gap before she retired.

As for herself, she never quite finished college and has been raising her 10-year-old son, Logan, on her own.

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