The orange wave of support for the federal New Democratic Party in Quebec turned into an election night tsunami as NDP candidates were elected all over the province, turning their one seat in Montreal into a whopping 59.
Many New Democrats were unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight by their huge upsets over the established Liberal, Conservative and Bloc Quebecois candidates. The Bloc was reduced to only four seats in Quebec. Their leader, Gilles Duceppes, couldn’t even hang on to his own riding, one that he’s represented in parliament for over 20 years.
Wait. It doesn’t stop there. Many of the newly-elected NDP Quebec MPs are young, so young in fact that Canadians are asking themselves if they will be up to the job of representing their constituents. The youngest-ever MP, 19-year old Pierre-Luc Dusseault, was elected after completing his first year of university in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
But the real controversy surrounding the election of the young candidates comes from 27-year-old, mother of two, Ruth Ellen Brosseau. The one who most Canadians recall because of the media hoopla due to her vacation during the height of the campaign, when she celebrated her birthday in Las Vegas. Brosseau has been a hot topic in the media since her win in Berthier-Maskinongé, a Quebec riding she admits never having visited, which is located between Montreal and Trois-Rivières.
According to the NDP, Brosseau is undergoing intensive training to learn about her role and responsibility as a parliamentarian. However, her francophone constituents are starting to wonder why they voted for her in the first place, since she’s having a hard time communicating with them, because of her lack of French. Over the weekend, Brosseau broke her silence and spoke with a reporter from Les Nouvellistes newspaper, saying she looks forward to visiting her new riding.
Si je peut dire quelque chose en francais. Elle a besoin d’aller là-bas tout de suite!
Adam Bemma is a journalist, humanitarian, and media consultant based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Adam Bemma 
wow. Shake up in canadian politics. With some hot looking pollies too! All the better!