Manicouagan

Manicouagan is one of Canada's largest federal ridings by area, spanning the vast Côte-Nord region of Quebec along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River and Gulf. The riding stretches from the Saguenay River eastward past Baie-Comeau and Sept-Îles to the Lower North Shore, and northward into the sub-Arctic interior as far as Fermont and Schefferville.

Candidates

Jonathan Genest-Jourdain (NDP) — A member of the Innu Nation who grew up in the community of Uashat-Maliotenam near Sept-Îles, Genest-Jourdain earned his law degree from Université Laval in 2004 and became a member of the Quebec bar in 2007. Before entering politics, he spent two years working as legal counsel for his own band council, the Innu Takuaikan Uashat mak Mani-Utenam, where he observed the interplay between Indigenous governance and federal-provincial authorities firsthand.

Gérard Asselin (Bloc Québécois) — A former foreman and municipal councillor, Asselin was one of the longest-serving Bloc Québécois MPs in the region, having first been elected in the riding of Charlevoix in 1993. Following the 2003 redistribution, he moved to the Manicouagan riding and was re-elected in 2004 and 2008. During his parliamentary career, he served as the Bloc's critic for Forestry and Natural Resources, issues of direct relevance to the riding's resource-dependent economy.

Gordon Ferguson ran for the Conservatives, André Forbes for the Liberals, and Jacques Gélineau for the Green Party.

About the Riding

Manicouagan was defined by its immense geography and resource-based economy. More than half the riding's population was concentrated in two cities: Baie-Comeau (population roughly 23,000) and Sept-Îles (roughly 25,000). Beyond these centres, small communities and Indigenous reserves were scattered along hundreds of kilometres of coastline and into the boreal interior.

The riding was home to eight Innu reserves — Essipit, Pessamit, Uashat-Maliotenam, Mingan, Natashquan, La Romaine, Pakuashipi, and Matimekosh — giving it one of the largest Indigenous populations of any Quebec riding. The Innu and Naskapi communities in the far north, near Schefferville, operated the Tshiuetin Rail Service connecting to Sept-Îles.

The economy was dominated by natural resources. Hydroelectric power generation was a cornerstone, with Hydro-Québec's Manic-5 dam and associated facilities on the Manicouagan River producing enormous quantities of electricity. The Alcoa aluminum smelter in Baie-Comeau was a major industrial employer, powered by the region's abundant hydroelectricity. Iron ore mining in the far north — at Fermont's Mont Wright mine and the reviving operations near Schefferville — provided another pillar of the economy. Forestry and pulp and paper operations also remained significant employers, though the sector had faced job losses in the years before the 2011 election.

The riding was predominantly francophone, with about 85 percent of residents listing French as their mother tongue and a significant Indigenous-language-speaking population. The Bloc Québécois had held the seat since 1993, and Asselin's long tenure made it traditional Bloc territory heading into the 2011 contest.