From the youngest-ever MP and four McGill University students, to a beer-slinging single mom, the new NDP caucus is an eclectic bunch, to say the least.
But the NDP veterans aren’t concerned – or at least they’re not showing it – saying this kind of shake up is exactly what Parliament needs.
"We’ll have a lot of new energy, new blood, new talent and new knowledge coming into the House of Commons, and, when people vote for change, that’s what they want," NDP leader Jack Layton said on Tuesday.
That being said the new MPs have been advised to get a little experience under their belt before taking any interviews.
"Some of our new members, it’s going to take a while before they’re ready,” said NDP spokesperson George Soule.
We take a look at some of the NDP rookie MPs headed to Parliament.
Ruth Ellen Brosseau
Brosseau has been the focus of much media attention around the NDP’s shake up in Quebec.
On Wednesday, questions were raised about the validity of her candidacy after two people came forward claiming they cannot recall if they signed her nomination papers.
Rene Young and his wife say they can’t remember agreeing to endorse Brosseau, though the couple’s signatures appear on her candidacy nomination forms.
Young says the signature appears to look like his but that of his wife bears no resemblance to her actual signature.
The newly elected MP was the assistant manager of Oliver’s Pub at Carleton University won her seat in Berthier-Maskinonge by nearly 6,000 votes. The riding is 98 per cent francophone, and her shaky knowledge of the French language has raised some eyebrows.
Leading up to the election the single mother was out of Quebec, taking a mid-campaign break in Sin City. She returned from Las Vegas a week prior to the election ahead in the polls.
Brosseau, now referred to as "Vegas" by some members of the NDP caucus, has a diploma in Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications from St. Lawrence College in Kingston.
Pierre-Luc Dusseault
So much for working at a golf course this summer – instead Pierre-Luc Dusseault is headed to the House of Commons. The 19-year old self,-described political junkie has become the youngest MP ever elected.
Dusseault says he’s young but confident. "I know the game," says Dusseault.
Dusseault, who turns 20 years old on May 31, won the riding of Sherbrooke in Quebec by over 3,600 votes. The MP just about to exit his teens will make a starting salary of $157,731.
Eve Peclet
Prior to campaigning for the NDP in the 2011 federal election, Eve Peclet was a contestant on a reality cooking TV show, Un Souper Presque Parfait, where she admits that she’s not a great cook.
Peclet won the riding of La Pointe-de-l’lle in Quebec by over 7,500 votes.
Alexandrine Latendresse
Alexandrine Latendresse won the riding of Louis-Saint-Laurent in Quebec, defeating Conservative cabinet minister Josée Verner, after graduating from Laval University a week earlier.
Charmaine Borg
Twenty-year old McGill University student Charmaine Borg defeated Bloc Quebecois incumbent Diane Bourgeois in the riding of Terrebonne-Blainville by more than 10,000 votes.
When pressed on her age and experience Borg responded, “I know that I can do this…I take this responsibility very seriously.”
Borg is a Political Science student at McGill and Labour Relations Officer for the Association of McGill University Support Employees.
McGill class of 2011
Along with Borg, two other McGill students and one McGill graduate won seats for the NDP in Quebec. Charmaine Borg, Matthew Dubé, Laurin Liu, and Mylène Freeman all defeated incumbent opponents from the Bloc Québécois in their respective ridings.
With files from the Ottawa Citizen
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