Ruth Ellen Brosseau (2011) Scandal: Viva Las Vengeance: The Absurd Saga of the NDP MP Who Dared to Vacation… Ruth Ellen Brosseau, The New Democratic Party (NDP), The Media/Political Opponents, Elections Canada

Ruth Ellen Brosseau (2011): The NDP MP became the subject of a minor scandal during the 2011 election when it was revealed she had taken a pre-planned vacation to Las Vegas during the campaign. Critics used this to suggest she was not serious about her role, though she later proved to be a dedicated MP.

Viva Las Vengeance: The Absurd Saga of the NDP MP Who Dared to Vacation

By Eddie Hardie🍁Social Steward | Statecraft Synergist

In the high-stakes, bloodsport arena of Canadian federal politics, where every move is scrutinized and every word parsed for hidden meaning, a threat to the very fabric of our democracy emerged in the spring of 2011. Her name was Ruth Ellen Brosseau, and her crime was one of such brazen negligence, such shocking disregard for the sacred rites of electioneering, that it threatened to topple the nation itself. What was this act of treachery? She went to Las Vegas.

Buckle up for a tale of a scandal so overblown, so dripping with media hypocrisy and political opportunism, that it should be taught as a masterclass in how to manufacture a crisis from nothing.

The “Crime”: A Sin City Getaway

The year was 2011. Jack Layton’s NDP was experiencing the “Orange Crush,” a surprise surge in Quebec that would see them become the Official Opposition. In the riding of Berthier—Maskinongé, a name appeared on the ballot that would soon be on the lips of every pundit in the country: Ruth Ellen Brosseau.

There was just one, seemingly catastrophic, problem. Brosseau wasn’t in Berthier—Maskinongé. She wasn’t even in the country. As the writ was dropped and the campaign began, the 27-year-old single mother, who worked as a pub manager and was a first-time candidate, was on a pre-planned, prepaid vacation to Las Vegas.

Cue the media firestorm.

Source: CBC News: ‘Vegas vacation could sink NDP candidate’

The “Evidence”: A Political Hit Job

The details, served up with glee by her opponents and a ravenous press, were simply too juicy to ignore.

• The “Carpetbagger”: Brosseau didn’t even live in the riding she was seeking to represent. She was from the Ottawa area. Critics painted her as a naive placeholder, a name on a ballot with no connection to the people she hoped to serve.

• The “Photo”: While her opponents were knocking on doors, what was Brosseau doing? The public imagination ran wild. Was she lounging by the pool? Placing bets at a blackjack table? Sipping a garish cocktail at a nightclub? The lack of a specific photo was almost worse—it allowed every critic to imagine the most damning scenario possible.

• The French “Scandal”: It was quickly revealed that her French—the primary language of her prospective constituents—was, at the time, rudimentary. The Vegas trip became the symbol of her perceived lack of commitment. How dare she not be a perfect, polyglot political prodigy from day one?

The narrative was set: Ruth Ellen Brosseau was not serious. She was an unserious candidate for an unserious party, enjoying an unserious vacation while the serious business of politics carried on without her. The outrage was palpable, the betrayal complete. How could she?!

Mockery and Rebuke: The Real Scandal Was the Scandal Itself

Let us now, with the benefit of hindsight, pour one out for this manufactured scandal and mock it for the absurdity it was.

The sheer, unadulterated hypocrisy of the criticism is staggering. We live in a society that simultaneously laments the lack of “ordinary people” in politics and then pillories an actual ordinary person for behaving like one. She was a 27-year-old single mother who had booked and paid for a vacation before an election no one—not even her own party—expected her to run in, let alone win. Was she supposed to eat the cost? To divine through a crystal ball the “Orange Crush” that would make her candidacy relevant?

The real scandal wasn’t the trip; it was the reaction. It was the political establishment and media, clutching their pearls at the notion that a candidate might have a life outside of politics. It was the blatant classism of mocking a service industry worker for not being a career politician. It was the utter lack of human empathy, the expectation that she should be a campaign robot, pre-programmed with flawless French and an encyclopedic knowledge of electoral law from birth.

They mocked the “assistant pub manager” for wanting a vacation. They scorned her for being “unprepared.” The message was clear: Politics is for professionals, not for you.

The Destructive Impact: Why This Foolishness Hurts Us All

This silly saga, while ultimately having a happy ending, has a corrosive effect on our democracy.

1. It Deters Ordinary People: The brutal, often irrational, scrutiny of a candidate’s every past move and personal decision is a powerful deterrent for anyone without a thick skin or a trust fund. Why would a teacher, a nurse, a farmer, or a pub manager subject themselves and their family to this kind of mockery for a job they might not even win? We are left with a political class dominated by lifelong politicos and lawyers, creating an echo chamber detached from the realities of everyday life.

2. It Elevates Style Over Substance: The “Vegas Scandal” was 100% about optics and 0% about competence, character, or policy. It forced a conversation about a vacation instead of a conversation about what the people of Berthier—Maskinongé actually needed. It teaches voters and the media to go for the “gotcha” moment rather than engaging in meaningful debate.

3. It’s a Hypocritical Standard: Male politicians have taken vacations, been absent, and made personal mistakes without their entire fitness for office being questioned. The scrutiny on Brosseau, a young woman, felt particularly vicious and personal, playing into tired tropes about irresponsible youth and maternal neglect.

The Ironic Twist: The Voters’ Revenge

The most delicious part of this entire story? The voters of Berthier—Maskinongé elected her anyway. And then they re-elected her in 2015.

And what did they get for their “gamble”? They got a hard-working, dedicated MP who threw herself into learning French, immersed herself in the riding’s issues, and by all accounts, became a beloved and effective representative.

Source: CBC News: ‘Ruth Ellen Brosseau, from Vegas vacation to NDP star candidate’

The “unserious” candidate became a serious and respected parliamentarian, while the “serious” critics were revealed to be the truly unserious ones, obsessed with spectacle over substance. The real betrayal wasn’t a trip to Vegas; it was a political and media culture so broken that it thought a pre-paid vacation was a bigger story than a person’s character, work ethic, and potential. In the end, Ruth Ellen Brosseau didn’t just win an election; she exposed the whole rotten game.

• Ruth Ellen Brosseau: At the time, she was a 26-year-old single mother and an assistant manager at a pub in Ottawa who agreed to put her name on the ballot as a candidate for the NDP, a common practice for parties in ridings they don’t expect to win. She became the focus of the controversy when it was revealed she took a pre-planned trip to Las Vegas for her birthday during the election campaign and had not visited the riding. It was also noted that she spoke very little French, despite the riding being 98% francophone.
• The New Democratic Party (NDP): The party leadership, including then-leader Jack Layton, was responsible for running her as a candidate. When she unexpectedly won in the “orange wave” that swept Quebec, the party had to manage the resulting criticism. Senior figures like Tom Mulcair, the Quebec lieutenant at the time, publicly promised to help her learn French and integrate into the riding.
• The Media/Political Opponents: Rival parties and the media highlighted her situation, nicknaming her “Vegas Girl” and raising questions about her suitability as an MP and the validity of her nomination papers, which some signatories claimed were falsified.
• Elections Canada: The body that ultimately approved her candidacy papers as being in order after an investigation, dismissing calls for a by-election.