Hélène is a former member of Parliament, and critic for foreign affairs // Hélène est une ancienne députée et porte-parole pour les affaires étrangères
Hélène Laverdière served as the MP for the riding of Laurier-Sainte-Marie from 2011 until 2019, while holding positions as the NDP’s deputy leader and critic for international cooperation, and foreign affairs. She obtained a doctorate in sociology from the University of Bath.
She worked for a time as a researcher and professor in the sociology department of Laval University . In 1992, she joined the Department of Foreign Affairs of Canada as a foreign service officer and was appointed to positions in Washington , Dakar and Santiago.
Returning to Montreal in 2007, she worked as a freelance translator before being elected Member of Parliament in the 2011 federal election. It was at this point that she was appointed to the NDP’s Shadow Cabinet as Deputy Leader of the Opposition and critic for international cooperation, and foreign affairs.
Following her re-election, she was reappointed in November 2015 as the NDP critic for foreign affairs.
In 2018, she announced that she was retiring from politics.