Emmanuella Lambropoulos
Emmanuella Lambropoulos is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on April 3, 2017. She represents the electoral district of Saint-Laurent as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.
A 26-year-old teacher from Rosemount High School at the time of her election, she won the Liberal nomination in an upset, defeating former provincial immigration minister Yolande James and future Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy.
Early life
Ms. Lambropoulos was born September 12, 1990 and raised in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montréal. She graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Education in 2013, where she was the president of the Hellenic Student Association. She then became a teacher at Rosemount High School, where she taught French and history.Political career
The seat in Saint-Laurent became available after the incumbent MP, Stéphane Dion, announced he would be leaving politics in January 2017, following a cabinet shuffle in which he lost his portfolio as foreign affairs minister. Ms. Lambropoulos had previously volunteered on Dion's team.Ms. Lambropoulos won the Liberal nomination on March 8, 2017 in an upset against the presumed candidate, Yolande James. James had previously been a provincial cabinet minister with strong ties to the Liberal party; however, she came in third place. Another likely candidate, Alan DeSousa, was not included on the ballot at all after being turned down by the Liberal Party. Ms. Lambropoulos's campaign was described as “grassroots” with strong support from local ethnic communities, including the Greek community to which she belongs. Her campaign began in her grandmother's living room and originally consisted of only Ms. Lambropoulos herself and her father.
She was officially elected as an MP in the Saint-Laurent by-election on April 3, 2017 with 59.1% of votes.
Ms. Lambropoulos has served on the parliamentary committees for Veterans Affairs, Status of Women, and Official Languages. Her most frequently-discussed topics in Parliament are disabilities and the status of women. As part of her work for the Status of Women committee, she has studied such issues as shelters and transition homes for women who are seeking to escape domestic violence, and barriers to women entering politics. On the Official Languages committee, she advocates for anglophones as the minority language in Québec.
She was re-elected on October 21, 2019, earning 58.9% of the vote. She stated that she would focus on helping local organizations and middle-class families.
Personal life
Lambropoulos speaks English, French, and Greek, but prefers speaking in English.Controversies
In 2018, several elected members of Ms. Lambropoulos' constituency association openly criticized the toxic atmosphere that has prevailed since her election, prompting several former presidents, Henri Paul Labelle, Thomas Welt, Constantin Nedea and Jehú Hernández, to denounce "the place that the Lambropoulos family is taking in the organization". In their letter, they also pointed out a breach of Ms. Lambropoulos' ethics, as "two members on the executive are employed in the county office, which would seem to put you in contravention of the rules of the House of Commons". Indeed, Nouvelles Saint-Laurent, a local newspaper, notes that the Manual of Allowances and Services for Members of Parliament clearly states that MPs " cannot hire members of the executive of political parties to work in their parliamentary or constituency offices".Following the tabling of the state secularism bill, Ms. Lambropoulos wrote on Facebook comparing the bill to segregation. Mr. Blanchet, leader of the Bloc Québécois, invited his colleague and the federal government to respect Quebecers. "We can see that this reveals the deep nature of the , which is hostile to Quebec identity, which is hostile to Quebec's secularism. I would remind Mr. Trudeau that the current government has been in power for six months and that in six months, it may not be here anymore," Mr. Blanchet replied. The minister responsible for the State Secularism Act, Mr. Simon Jolin-Barrette, replied: "I don't think the bill on secularism can be compared in any way to any dark period in the history of humanity. It does not contribute to the debate to have extreme comparisons like this. I think the bill that is being tabled by the government is a moderate bill that brings Quebeckers together".
During the federal election, Nouvelles Saint-Laurent spoke with the New Democratic Party candidate in Saint-Laurent, Ms. Miranda Gallo, who criticized the attitude of the outgoing MP, Ms. Lambropoulos, towards support for minorities. "The borough of Saint-Laurent has the third largest Arab population in Canada. Their interests are important here. She doesn't care," deplores Ms. Gallo.
In October 2019, Ms. Lambropoulos was once again criticized for her ethics. Several former members of the Youth Council denounced the unhealthy proximity between this non-partisan body, the Liberal riding association and the Liberal MP's office. Saint-Laurent News discovered that Mr. Amara Kaba "held the position of president of the two organizations in addition to being a subcontractor for Ms. Lambropoulos' office" and "another employee of the firm was allegedly simultaneously on the Council and the CDA".
A former member was also anonymously quoted for saying that "it was the former president and the president who decided a lot of things" and Mr. Kaba also explained that the Liberal MP "attended all of our meetings, sometimes suggested events, projects that we could do and validated ours".
Criticized left and right, Ms. Lambropoulos is said to have helped the Centre communauté Bon courage obtain a total grant of $37,000 from the Canada Summer Jobs program. Following her intervention, this organization succeeded in hiring 12 people, including five animation positions at Painter Park, in front of Ms. Lambropoulos' house, following a joint job offer with Ms. Lambropoulos' Youth Council.