Djaouida Sellah


Djaouida Sellah is a Canadian former politician, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 election.

Early life and career

Sellah was born in Algiers, Algeria. Her mother was a midwife and her father was killed in the Algerian War of Independence. She was a volunteer doctor for the Red Crescent during the Gulf War in Baghdad. She then went to Kuala Lumpur with her husband who was working as a translator. The two came to Quebec 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.

Federal politics

Sellah was elected in the 2011 Canadian federal election, for the electoral district of Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert 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. Following the death of Jack Layton, Sellah endorsed Tom Mulcair to be the next leader of the NDP
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 Women, for the remainder of the Parliament. She also served as the 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 Michel Picard, whom she had defeated in 2011.
Sellah was announced as the NDP's candidate for Montarville for the 2019 election in an attempt to retake the seat.

Post Commons

Sellah ran for president of the NDP in 2016 to replace Rebecca Blaikie, but ultimately lost to Marit Stiles.
Sellah was the president of the New Democratic Party of Quebec during 2018. She was the New Democratic Party of Quebec's candidate in La Pinière for the 2018 Quebec general election.