OTTAWA - Car dealers, chiropractors and karate instructors help make up the crop of MPs headed to Ottawa.
There's even going to be a "country gentleman" in the Commons.
Members of the 41st Parliament are a diverse lot. And while much has been made of all the newbie New Democrats, a glance through the CVs of freshly elected representatives turns up some interesting nuggets about their past lives.
Take Ryan Leef. The rookie MP from the Yukon sports an 0-2 record in professional mixed martial arts fights.
One fight Leef did win was against long-time Yukon Liberal MP Larry Bagnell. Now the 37-year-old Conservative can add MP to a resume that already includes former wildlife guide, Mountie and a corrections officer.
He's not the only fighter in the Commons. Two other rookie MPs list martial arts instructor as a former occupation: Conservative Dan Albas in Stockwell Day's old British Columbia riding and New Democrat Mathieu Ravignat, who knocked cabinet minister Lawrence Cannon out of his seat in western Quebec.
A Canadian Press analysis of MPs' profiles on the Parliament of Canada website found most elected officials -- 76 of the 308 -- describe themselves as entrepreneurs or businesspeople.
There were 44 lawyers, 29 politicos and 20 farmers in the lot. Another 22 had worked as journalists, broadcasters or as radio and TV hosts.
Thirty-eight MPs taught at a university, college, high school, elementary school or gave language lessons. Three more are medical doctors or physicians. Seven were police officers.
Two MPs rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Canadian Forces: Conservatives Laurie Hawn and Ted Opitz. Fellow Tory Gordon O'Connor made it to brigadier-general. The new Conservative MP for Pickering-Scarborough East, Corneliu Chisu, also served in the military.
Among the usual bunch of lawyers and career politicians are some MPs with less typical backgrounds.
Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux from Winnipeg worked as an air-traffic controller.
Fellow Grit Marc Garneau, of course, was the first Canadian in space.
Newly minted Conservative MP Chris Alexander was Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan. But he's not the only member of the Commons from the diplomatic corps. Helene Laverdiere of the New Democrats was a foreign service officer in Washington, Senegal and Chile.
There are artists, too.
Gary Schellenberger, the Conservative MP from Perth-Wellington, lists interior decorator and painter as former jobs. He was also a businessman.
Maybe some MPs could form a band? Five are musicians: New Democrats Charlie Angus, Robert Aubin, Andrew Cash and John Rafferty, along with Conservative Lois Brown. In fact, Angus and Cash did play together in 1980s punk band L'Etranger.
That list doesn't include Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has been known to tickle the ivories and belt out classic rock tunes from time to time.
Perhaps the most unique occupation belongs to affable Nova Scotia NDP MP Peter Stoffer: "country gentleman."
"Why not?" Stoffer said with a laugh.
"Everyone puts all these big, fancy things down. I figured, country gentleman, I had so many different jobs, let's just put them all into one."
Once many MPs were former bankers, lawyers and businesspeople. Now they come from all walks of life. University of Toronto political science professor Nelson Wiseman says an MP's background doesn't matter much.
"They've already applied and gotten their jobs," he said. "Now they're much more under the control of their leaders and their leaders' entourages."
Wiseman adds that parties tend to slot MPs into areas they're interested in. So, for example, an ex-cop might end up working on justice issues, whereas someone with a military background might be a good fit for defence-related matters.
The NDP is revelling in the diverse background of its new caucus, said veteran MP Olivia Chow. Combing through CVs of the party's 58 newcomers in Quebec, she discovered incredible variety.
"It's exciting," she said. "They're from all walks of life. There are lawyers and CEOs of different organizations, but there are some who are ordinary folks, who have done different things in their lives, and will have a very, very different perspective."
The MPs come from all over the world. Thirty-four were born outside Canada.
Three were born in the United States: Conservative Diane Ablonczy, New Democrat Bruce Hyer and Green party Leader Elizabeth May.
Other birthplaces include Algeria, Brazil, Chile, China, Dominican Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Trinidad and Tobago.
