Meet One of Canada's New Socialist MPs

Today, in my post-mortem on the Canadian election I noted that a number of the newly minted New Democratic Party (NDP) MPs were quite young and inexperienced and that this might very well come back to haunt them.

I, of course, mentioned Ruth Ellen Brosseau, the English speaking assistant bar manager elected in a rural francophone riding who did some of her best campaigning in Las Vegas. Now there are questions about some of the signatures on her nomination papers.

But let me draw your attention to another of these whippersnappers. Alexandrine Latendresse is a 27-year-old recent graduate of Laval University in Quebec City. How recent? Well, she just graduated last week. Here is a picture of Latendresse sporting a water gun and "I Still Hate George Bush" t-shirt.

Ah yes, youthful idealism in its full bloom.

Then again this is what happens when you have paper candidates. As I mentioned in my article, the NDP had only one seat in Quebec and in most elections it doesn't win any seats in Quebec. So most people who run for the NDP don't have campaign offices, don't participate in candidates debates, don't talk with voters or even set foot in the constituency. It gives the NDP the ability to say they have a full slate of candidates. But now that the Quebecois have elected these paper candidates, the NDP now finds itself in way over its head. NDP leader Jack Layton and his Quebec lieutenant Thomas Mulclair are going to have to spend a lot of time sharing babysitting duties. This could impede them from being an effective opposition never mind a viable alternative to an adult Conservative government.