Alexandra Mendès Politician

Alexandra Mendès (born November 3, 1963 in Lisbon, Portugal) is a Canadian politician. She was elected in the 2008 election as the federal Liberal MP for the Montreal riding of Brossard—La Prairie, defeating Marcel Lussier. She initially came in second by 102 votes, but a recount ordered by Elections Canada resulted in her winning by a margin of 69 votes.Mendes was formerly a constituency assistant to Jacques Saada, Lussier's predecessor as MP for Brossard—La Prairie, and has taught at the Brossard Portuguese School.Mendes was also a Quebec assistant to Bob Rae, for a period of eight months, during his leadership campaign. She has also worked for fifteen years at a settlement organization for new immigrants and refugees at Maison Internationale de la Rive-Sud.In August 2011, Mendes announced her candidacy for the presidency of the Liberal Party of Canada. While she was defeated in her race for the presidency by Mike Crawley, she remains a committed member of the party, making appearances on CTV and CBC's Power and Politics representing the party. In June 2012, Mendes became President of the Liberal Party's Quebec wing, the Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec).