| Élaine Michaud | |
| Image Upright: | 0.9 |
| Riding: | Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier |
| Parliament: | Canadian |
| Term Start: | May 2, 2011 |
| Term End: | August 4, 2015 |
| Predecessor: | André Arthur |
| Successor: | Joël Godin |
| Birth Date: | 17 October 1985 |
| Birth Place: | Longueuil, Quebec, Canada |
| Profession: | Information agent |
| Party: | New Democratic Party |
Élaine Michaud (born October 17, 1985) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 election.[1] 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.
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.[2]
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."[3] Michaud responded saying that the comments reflected Arthur's "well-known pettiness" and stating she intended to "do politics differently."[4]
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[5] and public opposition to the construction of Neuville Airport.[6]
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.[7]
In the 2012 NDP leadership race following the death of Jack Layton, Michaud supported Peggy Nash.[8] 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.[9] Michaud was defeated by Toronto District School Board trustee Marit Stiles.