Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia

Spanning the northern shore of the Gaspé Peninsula and the interior valleys of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, this vast rural riding stretched from the Haute-Gaspésie regional county municipality in the east through the towns of Matane and Mont-Joli to the Matapédia Valley along the New Brunswick border. The riding encompassed four regional county municipalities — La Haute-Gaspésie, La Mitis, Matane, and La Matapédia — and had a population of approximately 73,000 as of the 2006 census.

Candidates

Jean-François Fortin (Bloc Québécois) — A political science professor at the Cégep de Rimouski, Fortin was the Bloc's candidate to succeed Jean-Yves Roy, who had resigned from Parliament in October 2010 after a decade representing the riding. Born in 1973, Fortin was a relative newcomer to federal politics who brought an academic background in political science to his campaign in a riding that had elected Bloc members since the party's founding.

Nancy Charest (Liberal) — A lawyer by training with a law degree from Université Laval, Charest had served as the Quebec Liberal MNA for Matane from 2003 to 2007, winning the seat from the Parti Québécois by just 33 votes. During her time in Quebec's National Assembly, she served as parliamentary assistant to both the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Justice. She was defeated in the 2007 provincial election by Pascal Bérubé of the PQ, and had also run as the federal Liberal candidate in this riding in 2008.

Joanie Boulet (NDP) — Boulet ran as the NDP's candidate in the riding during the 2011 campaign.

Allen Cormier (Conservative) — Cormier carried the Conservative banner in a region where the party traditionally struggled to gain traction.

Louis Drainville ran for the Green Party.

About the Riding

This was one of Quebec's most geographically expansive ridings, covering a territory that stretched hundreds of kilometres along the St. Lawrence River's south shore and into the forested interior of the Matapédia Valley. The city of Matane, the riding's largest community, served as the economic hub and gateway to the Gaspé Peninsula. Matane was known for its shrimp fishery — crevettes de Matane were a regional delicacy — and the city had diversified into wind energy, hosting two wind turbine manufacturing plants operated by Marmen and Enercon as well as one of Quebec's largest wind farms. A Tembec pulp mill also provided industrial employment.

The Matapédia Valley, running southwest along the Matapédia River toward the New Brunswick border, was characterized by forestry and agriculture, with towns such as Amqui, Causapscal, and Sayabec serving as local centres. The valley had deep Acadian cultural roots. The La Mitis area around Mont-Joli and Rimouski's western periphery added a mix of small-town services and light industry.

The riding faced persistent challenges common to eastern Quebec's rural regions: population decline, an aging demographic profile, seasonal employment patterns in forestry and fisheries, and limited economic diversification outside the Matane hub. Federal issues of concern included support for the forestry sector, fisheries management, regional economic development, and transportation infrastructure connecting these dispersed communities.