Djaouida Sellah () is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician. Sellah represented the riding of

Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert (formerly known as Saint-Hubert) was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015. Its population in 2001 was 99,755. Geography This South ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 2011 to 2015. Following her tenure in parliament, she served as president of the

New Democratic Party of Quebec The New Democratic Party of Quebec (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique du Québec; NPDQ) is a federalist and social-democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The party is a revival of the comparable Nouveau Parti Démocratique ...

in 2018.

Early life and career

Sellah was born in Algiers,

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. Her mother was a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

and her father was killed in the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

. She was a volunteer doctor for the

Red Crescent The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

. She then went to

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

with her husband who was working as a translator. The two came to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

in 1998. Sellah has three children. At the time of her election, she was president of the ''Association québécoise des médecins diplômés hors Canada et États-Unis'', supporting the recognition of qualifications of foreign-trained doctors.

Political career

Federal politics

Sellah entered politics ahead of the

2011 Canadian federal election The 2011 Canadian federal election was held on May 2, 2011, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 41st Canadian Parliament. The writs of election for the 2011 election were issued by Governor General David Johnston on Marc ...

seeking the NDP nomination for Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher of which she lost to Pierre Nantel. She was then nominated by the party for the riding of

and was elected as part of the "Orange Wave" that swept Quebec, defeating three-term Bloc Québécois MP Carole Lavallée. Sellah was the first Canadian politician elected who was born in Algeria.(NDP). In parliament, Sellah served on the Health Committee for the 1st session of the 41st Parliament, and she then served on the Standing Committee of the Status of Woment. She also served as the assistant Health Critic for the NDP from 2012 until 2013. Sellah ran in the 2015 election in the new Riding of Montarville, but placed third behind

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Michel Picard, whom she had defeated in 2011. Sellah was once again the NDP's candidate for Montarville for the 2019 election; she came in third with a reduced percentage. She ran for the NDP again in the 2021 Election, but was unsuccessful.

Party politics

Following the death of

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...

, Sellah endorsed

Tom Mulcair Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

to be the next leader of the New Democratic Party. Sellah ran for president of the NDP in 2016 to replace Rebecca Blaikie, but ultimately lost to

Marit Stiles Marit Stiles () (born September 20, 1969) is a Canadian politician who has represented Davenport in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since June 7, 2018. A member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP), Stiles is presumed to be the next ...

. In the 2017 NDP leadership election, Sellah supported Charlie Angus.

Provincial politics

Sellah was the president of the

during 2018. She was the New Democratic Party of Quebec's candidate in

La Pinière La Pinière is a provincial electoral district in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. Its territory corresponds to the city of Brossard, less its "P" and "V" sectors that are located no ...

for the 2018 Quebec general election.Hélène Buzzetti
"La filière fédérale du NPD-Québec"
''

Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...

'', September 7, 2018.

Electoral record

Federal

Provincial

References

External links

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sellah, Djaouida Living people New Democratic Party MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Algerian emigrants to Canada Immigrants to Quebec People from Algiers People from Longueuil Physicians from Quebec 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Year of birth missing (living people)