TORONTO – There will be plenty of new faces in Ottawa in the coming weeks, as more than one-quarter of the seats in the House of Commons will be filled by new MPs.
Every province except Prince Edward Island is sending at least one new face to the next Parliament.
The rookies offer a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences – but some stand out as names that might make headlines in the years to come.
CTVNews.ca has put together a look at some of the most prominent or otherwise interesting new MPs.
---
Anita Anand (Liberal elected in Oakville, Ont.) – A law professor at the University of Toronto, Anand is a former associate dean of the U of T law school. She has extensive experience in the legal, academic and public service worlds, as well as a significant track record of community involvement.
Jenica Atwin (Green elected in Fredericton, N.B.)– The first Green candidate , Atwin will likely have a prominent role to play in the party’s efforts to brand itself as something more than the home of Elizabeth May.
Yves-Francois Blanchet (Bloc Quebecois elected in Beloeil—Chambly, Que.)– The Bloc leader only took the party’s reins last fall and was never elected to the House of Commons. Now he’ll have a chance to share his vision for Quebec and Canada on the Parliamentary stage.
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Bloc Quebecois elected in Lac-Saint-Jean, Que.) – Justin Trudeau wasn’t the only scion of a prominent Quebec political family who received voters’ approval on Monday. Brunelle-Duceppe is the son of longtime Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe.
Eric Duncan (Conservative elected in Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, Ont.) – Duncan was first elected to municipal office in 18 and became the mayor of his community in 2010, at the age of 22. His election day this time around got off to a strange start, as .
Matthew Green (NDP elected in Hamilton Centre, Ont.) – The first black councillor ever elected in Hamilton, Green was an avid user of social media during the election campaign. He has pledged to fight for strong measures on climate change and affordable housing.
Jack Harris (NDP elected in St. John’s East, N.L.) – Analysts say personal popularity carried Harris back into a seat he previously held from 2008 until 2015, and before that for a brief time in the 1980s. He’s also led the provincial NDP and was a law partner of former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Danny Williams.
Marie-France Lalonde (Liberal elected in Orleans, Ont.) – Lalonde moved through three cabinet portfolios during her one term as an MPP in Ontario, including reforming police accountability and serving as the province’s first minister for Francophone affairs. She was one of just seven Liberals to win seats in 2018.
Alex Ruff (Conservative elected in Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, Ont.)– If veterans’ affairs become an important topic, the Conservatives may look to Ruff, who led a Canadian Armed Forces team in Afghanistan and also served in Bosnia and Iraq, to be a point man.
Corey Tochor (Conservative elected in Saskatoon—University, Sask.)– Coming out of Saskatchewan and having spent time in a legislative speaker’s chair (provincially, in his case), Tochor comes close to following the career path of Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer.
Adam van Koeverden (Liberal elected in Milton, Ont.)– The four-time Olympic medallist won one of the most closely watched races in the country, defeating Conservative Deputy Leader Lisa Raitt in the riding she had held for over a decade.
Lenore Zann (Liberal elected in Cumberland—Colchester, N.S.)– Another experienced provincial politician, Zann spent 10 years as an NDP MLA in Nova Scotia. She was an actress before entering politics, and provided the voice of Rogue in the 1990s “X-Men” cartoon.
