Rookie N.B. MP getting a crash course on life in federal politics

As a member of parliament for the first time, Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault is going to be putting on a lot of miles, with two constituency offices in a riding he said takes three hours to drive from one end to the other. 

He'll also be shuttling back and forth by plane between Ottawa and his Madawaska-Restigouche riding. 

It'll be a seven-days-a-week job covering a lot of ground, but he's excited to get started once he finishes his orientation as a rookie MP.

"I'm used to travelling around for work like that, so it's not something new to me," he said.

"I like to be really busy and I really like the contact with the people. When we are in Ottawa, we are in Parliament [mostly], so I think it's important in the riding to stay connected to the people. I like to go to different community activities to connect with the people you're representing."

Deschênes-Thériault has been on the job less than a month, learning the ropes of this new world. He's been through a week of orientation in Ottawa, setting up offices there and in his riding back home. He's learning the mechanics of the job and adjusting to a new culture as an elected member in Ottawa.

He has certain advantages because he's not new to politics or Ottawa. He has a master's degree in Canadian politics from the University of Ottawa and is work on completing his PhD there. He had been a municipal councillor in Kedgwick since 2021 before winning his federal seat in the April 28 election.

New MPs go through orientation process

The new Liberal MP said he still has much to learn through the orientation process in Ottawa. A liaison officer is guiding him through the first eight weeks. In the beginning there's a lot of focus on the mechanics — filling out paperwork, lots of paperwork, getting a security card, a computer, and learning about budgets and how to set up offices with staff. 

They also do specialized sessions on security and being on guard against foreign interference, a big issue for MPs in recent years.

The volume of new information can be overwhelming, so Deschênes-Thériault said he appreciates having a liaison officer at his side.

"He is the one who is connecting us with all the different services," Deschênes-Thériault said. "I don't need to knock on every door in Ottawa. I just have to knock on one, and he's the one connecting me with the people to answer my questions."

'I like to connect with people'

There's the day-to-day operations and then there's the "people side of things," he said.

"I'm quite a social person and I like to connect with people, so I'm looking forward to it," he said.

"It will also be interesting to see with whom I can work on common issues. With the rural caucus, there's other members representing rural areas."

He said he's eager to collaborate with those MPs on policies that benefit rural ridings like his.

"[My riding] has the second-largest proportion of French speakers outside of Quebec. There's other members representing francophone communities outside of Quebec, so how can we work together on common issues?"

Job often surprises rookies, poli-sci prof says

Some of those MPs may come from different parties, something that often surprises newly elected representatives, political science professor Don Desserud said.

Desserud, the chair of the political science department at the University of Prince Edward Island, has met many politicians over the years and said they're often surprised by certain aspects of the job. 

They underestimate the personal toll of the back-and-forth travel, he said. They get nervous giving their first speech in the House of Commons. They discover that some of their best friends turn out to be MPs from other parties.

Desserud once asked an MP if he was bothered by the lack of nightlife in Ottawa.

"He said he wouldn't know as he was always so exhausted by the end of the day, he was fast asleep by 9," Desserud said.

Deschênes-Thériault isn't worried about his social life because he still has many friends in Ottawa who will enjoy catching up at a local microbrewery. 

"I met a lot of my friends while doing my master's degree in political science," he said. "So it's a lot of friends who enjoy talking about politics."