# Élaine Michaud

Élaine Michaud (born October 17, 1985) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 election. She represented the Quebec electoral district of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier as a member of the New Democratic Party. She was defeated in 2015 by Joël Godin of the Conservative Party.

## Biography

At the time of her election, she was a communications officer at the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec and a masters student at the École nationale d'administration publique.
Michaud won with 42.7% of the vote, defeating incumbent independent MP André Arthur by a margin of 7,793 votes. After the election, Arthur insulted her, saying he did not know what he could have said to people in his riding to avoid being beaten by a "fat girl with unclean teeth." Michaud responded saying that the comments reflected Arthur's "well-known pettiness" and stating she intended to "do politics differently."
Among Michaud's issues in the 41st Parliament were the issue of contaminated water in Shannon, Quebec, near the Valcartier military base in her riding and public opposition to the construction of Neuville Airport.
During the 41st Parliament, Michaud served as a member of the House Committees on Environment and Sustainable Development and Official Languages, and an associate member of the Committees on Finance, National Defence, and Veterans Affairs.
In the 2012 NDP leadership race following the death of Jack Layton, Michaud supported Peggy Nash. Michaud was defeated in the 2015 election by Conservative Joël Godin.
Following her defeat, Michaud stood for the presidency of the NDP after criticizing the leadership of Thomas Mulcair. Michaud was defeated by Toronto District School Board trustee Marit Stiles.

## Electoral history

vte2015 Canadian federal election: Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Joël Godin | 27,290 | 43.97 | +16.2 | $71,670.38 |
| | New Democratic | Élaine Michaud | 13,686 | 22.05 | -20.6 | $76,976.38 |
| | Liberal | David Gauvin | 13,322 | 21.47 | +14.9 | $48,792.76 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Raymond Harvey | 6,665 | 10.74 | -9.8 | $11,313.73 |
| | Green | Johanne Morin | 1,096 | 1.77 | -0.6 | – |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 62,059 | 100.0 | | $227,576.17 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 781 | 1.39 | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 62,840 | 72.33 | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 86,884 |
| | Conservative gain from New Democratic | Conservative gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | +18.4* |
| Source: Elections Canada Swing is taken from André Arthur, an independent candidate supported by the Conservatives in the last election. |||||||
vte2011 Canadian federal election: Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Élaine Michaud | 22,387 | 42.7 | +30.0 |
| | Independent | André Arthur | 14,594 | 27.8 | -5.8 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Richard Côté | 10,745 | 20.5 | -11.5 |
| | Liberal | Réjean Thériault | 3,463 | 6.6 | -9.7 |
| | Green | Claudine Delorme | 1,279 | 2.4 | -1.2 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 52,468 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 946 | 1.8 | -0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,414 | 66.2 | +5.4 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 80,694 | – | – |