Pierrefonds—Dollard

Pierrefonds—Dollard occupies the northwestern corner of the Island of Montreal, bordered by the Lake of Two Mountains to the north and the Rivière des Prairies to the east. The riding encompasses the Montreal boroughs of Pierrefonds-Roxboro and L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève, as well as the city of Dollard-des-Ormeaux. The area is a largely suburban stretch of Montreal's West Island, with a mix of detached homes, parks, and commercial strips.

Candidates

Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe (NDP) — Born in 1984 in Montreal, Blanchette-Lamothe held a teaching diploma from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières in special education. She had taught in Kuujjuaq, an Inuit community in northern Quebec, and in schools in the Montreal area. Heading into the 2011 election, she was pursuing a master's degree in education and working with COMSEP, a community organization focused on alleviating poverty.

Bernard Patry (Liberal) — A physician and one of the founders of the Pierrefonds Medical Clinic, Patry had represented the riding continuously since 1993, winning six consecutive elections. Before entering federal politics, he served as a city councillor in L'Île-Bizard beginning in 1968 and became one of the youngest mayors in Quebec the following year, serving in that role for eighteen years. In Parliament, he chaired the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and served as president of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie from 2005 to 2007.

Agop Evereklian (Conservative) — Evereklian had served as chief of staff to the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney. He had previously run as the Conservative candidate in Laval—Les Îles in the 2008 federal election. His career in government spanned roles under three prime ministers from 1993 to 2010.

Nicolas Jolicoeur (Bloc Québécois) and Jonathan Lumer (Green Party) also contested the riding.

About the Riding

Pierrefonds—Dollard is a predominantly residential suburban riding on Montreal's West Island. Dollard-des-Ormeaux, the riding's most populous municipality, had a population exceeding 48,000 as of the 2006 census. The riding is notably multilingual: roughly a third of residents speak English as a mother tongue, another third speak French, and the remaining third speak a non-official language, reflecting the area's significant immigrant population. Communities of Caribbean, Middle Eastern, and South Asian origin have grown substantially in the riding.

The local economy is anchored by retail and services, with proximity to the Parc industriel de Pierrefonds providing light industrial employment. The riding's suburban character means many residents commute to central Montreal for work. Major employers in the broader West Island include pharmaceutical companies and aerospace firms. Local issues heading into 2011 included transit access — particularly the long-discussed extension of the Montreal Metro to the West Island — infrastructure upgrades, and federal immigration policy, given the riding's diverse population. The riding sits along the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 40) and is served by commuter rail and bus routes connecting to downtown Montreal.