Bourassa

Bourassa was a federal riding in northeastern Montreal, Quebec, encompassing the borough of Montréal-Nord and part of Ahuntsic-Cartierville. The by-election was called after Liberal MP Denis Coderre resigned his seat effective June 2, 2013, to run for Mayor of Montreal. Coderre had represented Bourassa since 1997 and went on to win the Montreal mayoralty on November 3, 2013.

Candidates

Emmanuel Dubourg (Liberal) — Dubourg was a chartered accountant and teacher born in Saint-Marc, Haiti, who emigrated to Canada in 1974. He held an MBA from the Université du Québec à Montréal and had been a member of the Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec since 1987. He served as a Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Viau from 2007 to 2013, resigning his provincial seat in August 2013 to seek the federal Liberal nomination.

Stéphane Moraille (NDP) — Moraille was a lawyer and musician born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She held a master's degree in intellectual property law from Osgoode Hall Law School and practised arts and communications law. She was known as a singer with the Montreal band Bran Van 3000, whose album "Glee" won a Juno Award in 1998.

Daniel Duranleau (Bloc Québécois) — Duranleau ran as the Bloc Québécois candidate in the riding.

Rida Mahmoud (Conservative) — Mahmoud ran as the Conservative candidate in the riding.

About the Riding

Bourassa sat on the southern banks of the Rivière des Prairies in northeastern Montreal, encompassing the borough of Montréal-Nord and the eastern portion of the Sault-au-Récollet neighbourhood in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville. The riding was named after Henri Bourassa, the journalist and politician who founded the newspaper Le Devoir.

The riding was one of the most ethnically diverse in Quebec. It was home to one of Canada's largest Haitian communities, with approximately 20 percent of residents identifying as being of Haitian origin. Other significant communities included those of North African, Latin American, and Italian descent. French was the predominant language, though Arabic, Haitian Creole, and Spanish were also widely spoken.

Montréal-Nord was a working-class area with a mix of post-war apartment buildings, social housing complexes, and modest single-family homes. The local economy was driven by retail, light manufacturing, and public-sector employment. Henri-Bourassa Boulevard served as the main commercial corridor. The area faced challenges related to youth unemployment, affordable housing, and community safety, while benefiting from strong neighbourhood organizations and cultural institutions serving the diverse population.