Brenda holds an MBA, a Bachelor of Social Work and a Bachelor of History. During her career as a banker, social worker and financial educator, she provided counsel in financial management and developed financial literacy workshops and materials as well as being a commentator on financial issues for various media outlets.

A long-time resident of Châteauguay and mother of three adult children, Brenda has been involved in a number of organizations such as Amnesty International and the Canadian Federation of University Women.

Elected as the Member of Parliament for Châteauguay-Lacolle in 2015, Brenda served on the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Death, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. She was then appointed to the Committee of Parliamentarians on National Security and Intelligence. She was also Vice-Chair of the Quebec Liberal Caucus, Vice-Chair of the Liberal Women's Caucus and Co-Chair of the Multiparty Global Health Caucus.

For her second term (2019-), she continues to serve on the Committee of Parliamentarians on National Security and Intelligence. She is also Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics as well as Treasurer of the Liberal Women's Caucus and Treasurer of the Rural Liberal Caucus.