Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac
Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac (born February 6, 1972) is a former Canadian politician. She served as a Member of Parliament for the Bloc Québécois in the riding of Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot from 2007 to 2011.[1] She was the first Vietnamese Canadian ever elected to the Canadian House of Commons.[2]
Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot | |
| In office September 17, 2007 – May 2, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Yvan Loubier |
| Succeeded by | Marie-Claude Morin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 6, 1972 Vietnam |
| Political party | Bloc Québécois |
| Residence | Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada |
| Profession | Political assistant |
Early life
Born in Vietnam to a Cham family,[3] Thi Lac was adopted at age two by a Quebec family and grew up on a farm near Acton Vale.
Career
Prior to her election, she worked for her predecessor, Yvan Loubier, as an executive assistant in his constituency office.
Political career
She was elected to the House of Commons of Canada on September 17, 2007, as the Bloc Québécois candidate in the Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot by-election, defeating the Conservative candidate Bernard Barré.
She acknowledged that racism was a factor at the outset of her campaign, but stressed her local roots by joking that having grown up on a farm, she was the only candidate in the race who knew how to castrate a pig.[2] She later credited her willingness to simply talk to people as her most effective strategy:
I feel it enormously, but I explain my origins and people are receptive. I would say what scares people a little is difference, but when they speak to me, when they see me, when I am asked about my values, they see no difference between them and me.[2]
She was re-elected in the 2008 election, but was defeated in the 2011 election by Marie-Claude Morin of the New Democratic Party.
Electoral record
| 2008 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Bloc Québécois | Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac | 22,719 | 47.3% | +5.2 | ||||
| Conservative | René Vincelette | 10,203 | 21.2% | -16.0 | ||||
| New Democratic | Brigitte Sansoucy | 6,721 | 14.0% | +6.1 | ||||
| Liberal | Denise Tremblay | 6,638 | 13.8% | +6.4 | ||||
| Green | Jacques Tétreault | 1,771 | 3.7% | +0.0 | ||||
| Total | 48,052 | |||||||
| By-election on September 17, 2007 | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloc Québécois | Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac | 13,443 | 42.1% | -13.9 | ||
| Conservative | Bernard Barré | 11,965 | 37.5% | +12.7 | ||
| New Democratic | Brigitte Sansoucy | 2,538 | 7.9% | +2.4 | ||
| Liberal | Jean Caumartin | 2,379 | 7.4% | -2.4 | ||
| Green | Jacques Tétreault | 1,169 | 3.7% | -0.2 | ||
| Rhinoceros | Christian Willie Vanasse | 384 | 1.2% | |||
| Canadian Action | Michel St-Onge | 61 | 0.19% | |||
| Total | 31,949 | |||||