Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagne, Bloc MP and new mom, ready for first foray into federal politics
As a new MP in the House of Commons, Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagne has had a busy few weeks learning the ins and outs of the new job.
Tack on that she had a baby boy just days before the election -- her first child -- and the fall of 2021 has proven to be a whirlwind for the 33-year-old representative for Terrebonne, Que., north of Montreal.
“It was pretty stressful, and on the other hand, I didn't pick the date of the election and neither did I pick the date where he would come out,” she said in a recent interview by video chat. “When it did happen, of course it's overwhelming to learn how to be an MP at the same time as you're learning how to be a mother, but at the same time, it's something that I got along with.”
While tending to a newborn baby, Sinclair-Desgagne won the seat for the Bloc Quebecois with 41.1 per cent of the vote. Sinclair-Desgagne had taken over as the Bloc representative for Terrebonne from incumbent MP Michel Boudrias, who ran as an independent in 2021.
In what has been a busy few months, Sinclair-Desgagne added that the internal pressure is on to prove that she can handle being an MP and a new mom at the same time.
“What I really want to avoid is to do both in a poor way,” she said. “I'm focusing on trying to be a really good MP and learning the tricks of it while also learning to be a mother, but it's so far so good. I'm lucky I have a really good baby.”
Sinclair-Desgagneis one of the 50 rookie MPs elected in the 2021 federal election. CTVNews.ca is profiling five -- one from each party with a seat in the Commons -- in the lead-up to the first sitting day of the 44th Parliament.
Beginning at a young age, Sinclair-Desgagne was interested in politics. Her grandfather ran for the provincial Parti Quebecois in the 1970s, and she also founded the sovereigntist cell at McGill University while working towards an economics degree.
After McGill, Sinclair-Desgagne went to Oxford University to study for a masters in Environmental Change and Management, before working at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte.
“I worked a few years in Europe before coming back to Montreal and when I came back, I realized it was already a different Montreal that I left 10 years later, and I started feeling that I had to be more involved,” she said. “I had to contribute more to my community, and there were some changes that I would like to be part of.”
Newly-elected Bloc Quebecois member of Parliament Nathalie Sinclair Desgagne joins Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet as they hold a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Newly-elected Bloc Quebecois member of Parliament Nathalie Sinclair Desgagne joins Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet as they hold a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Before joining federal politics, Sinclair-Desgagne worked for the City of Montreal as a senior economic advisor. In a statement, the City of Montreal said Sinclair-Desgagne had a hand in achieving its “ambitious environmental goals” by “rethinking Montreal's tax and pricing system” to help with the city’s climate plan.
“She worked with a diverse team (engineers, architects, biologists, sociologists, etc.) committed to the ecological transition,” a spokesperson for the city said in an email, translated from French.
One of Sinclair-Desgagne’s files in the House of Commons concerns pandemic programs. She hopes to see these programs focused more on supporting small businesses, which she believes have had the opposite effect in some cases.
“One thing I'd like to see is more targeted initiatives and programs for entrepreneurs, for businesspeople. I think they've received a lot of help, but actually some of the help was counterproductive,” she said. “The wage subsidy is one thing, but then on the other hand, the individual help that some people are receiving is actually making the shortage of workers even worse.”
Sinclair-Desgagne joins a Bloc Quebecois caucus of 32 representatives, the same number compared to the 2019 election, but a significant increase since the 2015 election.
“As long as Quebec needs to have a voice in Ottawa, then I hope the Bloc does well and I think right now the Bloc is doing well because they feel like their voice is not being heard,” she said.
When it comes to her community, Sinclair-Desgagne hopes to put her economics background to use and grow the industry of Terrebonne, where about half of residents either work in business and finance, sales and services or the trades, according to Statistics Canada,
“I'm proud that I've been elected MP in Terrebonne and Terrebonne is actually a constituency that's full of entrepreneurs and business people,” she said. “If I can continue with my background and I've worked a lot with businesses in the last 10 years. I've seen start ups to two multinationals and if I can help and contribute with my background, that's exactly what I want to do.”
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
Advocacy groups speak out against domestic violence comments by Nova Scotia minister
Several Nova Scotia groups that assist women are speaking out against comments on domestic violence by Justice Minister Brad Johns, and at least one is calling for his dismissal.
A couple lost their wedding rings during the ceremony. Two strangers found a fitting solution
Every good wedding has to have one teensy, tiny crisis.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
Local Spotlight
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
Relocated seal returns to Greater Victoria after 'astonishing' 204-kilometre trek
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Ottawa barber shop steps away from Parliament Hill marks 100 years in business
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
'It was a special game': Edmonton pinball player celebrates high score and shout out from game designer
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
'How much time do we have?': 'Contamination' in Prairie groundwater identified
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.