‘Plane Talk’ with Ruth Ellen Brosseau: On the surprising win in 2011 and that trip to Vegas

WATCH: NDP MPRuth Ellen Brosseau was elected in the orange wave and thrust into the spotlight because of a mid-campaign trip to Las Vegas. She talks to Tom Clark about the transition from paper candidate to respected MP.

She’s come a long way from one of the dozens of surprise wins in the 2011 federal election to what some describe as a model MP.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau was among the NDP’s Quebec candidates swept up in that orange wave that helped the party secure federal official Opposition status for the first time ever.

With four years under her belt and her second campaign around the corner, Brosseau takes in the bird’s eye view of the nation’s capital while reflecting on her time as an MP.

Below is a transcript of her ‘Plane Talk’ with Tom Clark:

Tom Clark:

Welcome back.  Well in the last election, 2011, the orange wave swept over Quebec and elected an historic number of NDP MPs and caught up in all of that was Ruth Ellen Brosseau.  She was so sure of defeat that during the campaign she took a brief holiday in Las Vegas, but against all odds, on election night, 2011, she was elected in Berthier–Maskinonge.  Before that, she was the assistant manager of a university pub.  Now she’s the deputy agriculture critic and vice chair of the NDP national caucus so we took her aloft for a little bit of “Plane Talk”.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

It reminds me of my mom’s car, she has a ’67 MG.

Tom Clark:

Laughing.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

She does, I learned how to drive on it.

Tom Clark:

Oh yeah?

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

Yeah.

Tom Clark:

Rockliffe traffic, Charlie, bravo, x-ray, papa, rolling 27 Rockliffe.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau, welcome to “Plane Talk”.  Good to have you here.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

Thanks for the invitation.

Tom Clark:

Well I guess the only thing more surprising than being in a small plane with somebody like me was getting elected back in 2011.  How surprised were you when you won?

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

Oh, May 2^nd, my son, I remember before leaving, he said mom you’re going to win.  Like I don’t think I’m going to win babe but maybe the next time around.  Maybe if I decide to run again I will have better chances next time around so I left and it was pretty amazing but it was just kind of for me, what do I do next?  Like what are the next steps?  What are my few days or weeks looking like?  It was kind of unknown and I was really lucky to have support of my caucus colleagues but also Jack. I could talk to him any time and so Thomas Mulcair, they really helped me get through the first few weeks.

Tom Clark:

What was that transition like for you because you were the most unlikely winner of the 2011 election campaign?  You’ve become a well-respected Member of Parliament.  Talk to me about that transition between the surprise and where you are now.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

It’s been a crazy four years almost… four years now.  At first it was pretty hard having to learn how to do everything under a spotlight and scrutinized a lot by the media so I really wanted to make sure that eventually they would kind of leave me alone but also I do a good job hopefully.  So I think adapting to that, learning how to deal with media, not take it personally and just kind of move forward and continue, and just stay true and close to the family and friends.  That was kind of hard at first.

Tom Clark:

One of the things that you did before you became and MP was that you were a bartender.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

Yeah, yeah I was.

Tom Clark:

What was your favourite drink to make as a bartender?

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

For me personally?

Tom Clark:

Yeah the one you liked making the best?

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

I’d say a dirty vodka martini.

Tom Clark:

A dirty… was that to make or to drink?

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

To drink, to drink but no, a bar rail that was always fun to do.  It was nice and fast.  But before being elected, I was assistant manager of a bar so I kind of stepped up.  I did bartend and serve for many years in downtown restaurants and bars.  I really enjoyed that.  It was a lot of fun but when you’re getting late in your 20’s you’re kind of looking for something else, something that is not until 3 in the morning.  Something a little bit more stable.

Tom Clark:

So you went into politics because you didn’t want to work until three in the morning?  Did nobody tell you?

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

Yeah, you’re working actually seven days a week, 365 days a year, it’s hard to take time off and actually leave that cell phone alone and relax.  It was a big change but I think my experience previously working in bars and meeting people and listening has helped me as a Member of Parliament.  Surely it’s completely different. I have a lot more responsibilities.  The subjects are vast, especially being critic for deputy critic for agriculture; I have a lot to learn.  I continue to learn every day but I think my experience before did help me also having a thicker skin helped too… helps in politics.

Tom Clark:

What’s the one thing that you’ve learned about politics that you never knew before you were elected?

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

Oh, I guess how partisan it is in the House of Commons.  I think that’s one of the things that surprised me the most.  We would work on certain… I’ve only been on a few committees.  I was on ethics for a while and then I moved to status of women and I’ve been on the “ag” for the last few years but just how caught up people get in the party lines and how partisan people are, I think that kind of surprised me at first how there’s a lot of control by the government committees when you would think that something would be partisan that you know it would be for the greater good.  You know it just didn’t matter, they would just stick to the party line and I think that kind of surprised me the most.

Tom Clark:

You were in daily battle with the Conservative government.  Have your views of Conservatives changed since you’ve been in the House of Commons?

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

I think at first you know it was kind of, this is the government and this is who we’re kind of battling against.  I think the Conservatives I have respect for them because I kind of know what to expect.  Day-to-day, I know what to expect of the Conservatives but the Liberals, it just depends on what side of the bed they kind of wake up on.  You don’t know how they’re going to act or how they’re going to take a position on certain bills so I guess I have respect for the Conservatives for the principle you kind of know where they’re going to go with things.  The Liberals, you’re just not too sure.

Tom Clark:

So you’re not totally opposed to this partisan thing?

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

Tom Clark:

Okay, I’ve got to ask you this.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

Yep.

Tom Clark:
In the next election campaign, are you going to go back to Las Vegas?  Sort of a good luck thing.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

Tom Clark:

In Las Vegas?

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

Tom Clark:

Ruth Ellen Brosseau thanks for coming up and doing some “Plane Talk”.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau:

Thank you so much, it was a great way to start the week for sure.  Another box ticked off.  I never thought I would do this.