Jamie Nicholls is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election to represent the electoral district

Electoral district (Canada)

An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...

 of Vaudreuil-Soulanges

Vaudreuil-Soulanges (electoral district)

Vaudreuil-Soulanges is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. From 1914 to 1968 a similarly-defined electoral district existed under the slightly different designation Vaudreuil—Soulanges.It consists of the...

 in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 as a member of the New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

.

Raised in Saint-Lazare, Quebec

Saint-Lazare, Quebec

Saint-Lazare, also known as Saint-Lazare-de-Vaudreuil, is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada in the Regional County Municipality of Vaudreuil-Soulanges....

, Nicholls joined the NDP at the age of 18 and received his Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in visual arts

Visual arts

The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...

 in 1995 and his master's degree

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 in landscape architecture

Landscape architecture

Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...

 in 2007.

After studying and working in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, and Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, he returned to Quebec permanently in 2007. Before his election to Parliament, Nicholls worked in a variety of fields: arts and design teacher, environmental researcher, ecological intervention adviser, registered landscape architect (AAPQ) and was a board member of COBAVER (Conseil des bassins versants Vaudreuil-Soulanges).

To win his seat in the House of Commons, Nicholls defeated the incumbent Bloc Québécois

Bloc Québécois

The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

 MP, Meili Faille

Meili Faille

Meili Faille is a Canadian politician. She was a Bloc Québécois member of the Canadian House of Commons, being first elected in the 2004 election in the district of Vaudreuil-Soulanges. Prior to being elected, Faille was a consultant and project coordinator...

.

Working as a landscape architect

Landscape architect

A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....

 while enrolled at McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

's School of Urban Planning, Nicholls was one of five current McGill students, alongside undergraduates Mylène Freeman

Mylène Freeman

Mylène Freeman is the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for the riding of Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel in Quebec, first elected in the 2011 Canadian federal election after defeating incumbent MP Mario Laframboise of the Bloc Québécois.Born in Stouffville, Ontario, she is fluent in both...

, Matthew Dubé, Charmaine Borg

Charmaine Borg

Charmaine Borg is the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for the riding of Terrebonne—Blainville in Quebec, having been first elected in the 2011 Canadian federal election. She defeated incumbent MP Diane Bourgeois of the Bloc Québécois.A Montreal resident, Borg was born in Keswick,...

 and Laurin Liu, elected to Parliament in the 2011 election following the NDP's unexpected mid-campaign surge in Quebec.