Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques

Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques is a large rural riding in eastern Quebec's Bas-Saint-Laurent region, stretching along the south shore of the lower St. Lawrence River and extending south to the borders of New Brunswick and the American state of Maine. The riding encompasses the regional county municipalities of Rimouski-Neigette, Témiscouata, and Les Basques. Its principal communities include the city of Rimouski, the towns of Trois-Pistoles, Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac, and Dégelis.

Candidates

Guy Caron (NDP) — Born in 1968 in Rimouski, Caron held a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Ottawa, where he had served two terms as president of the student federation from 1992 to 1994. He went on to serve as national president of the Canadian Federation of Students from 1994 to 1996. Before the 2011 election, he was working as an economist for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. Caron was a persistent candidate in the riding, having run for the NDP in the same seat in each of the three previous federal elections — 2004, 2006, and 2008 — finishing a distant fourth each time.

Claude Guimond (Bloc Québécois) — Guimond had won the Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques seat for the Bloc in the 2008 federal election and was seeking his second term. Born in 1963, he was serving his first full parliamentary term heading into the 2011 campaign.

Bertin Denis (Conservative), Pierre Cadieux (Liberal), and Clément Pelletier (Green Party) also contested the riding.

About the Riding

Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques covers a vast stretch of eastern Quebec, with a population of approximately 84,000 as of the 2006 census. The riding is almost entirely francophone. Rimouski, the regional capital with a population of roughly 48,000, serves as the administrative, educational, and commercial centre of the Bas-Saint-Laurent. It is home to the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), a university of approximately 7,000 students known for its marine science and regional development programs, as well as the Institut maritime du Québec, the province's principal marine training institution.

The economy of the riding reflects the challenges of a resource-dependent, peripheral region. Forestry has historically been a cornerstone industry, though the sector faced significant pressures from the softwood lumber dispute and declining demand in the years before 2011. Agriculture — particularly dairy farming, beef and sheep production, and maple syrup — remains important across the rural interior. Trois-Pistoles, the seat of the Les Basques MRC with a population of roughly 3,500, and the Témiscouata communities around Lac Témiscouata depend on forestry, agriculture, and tourism. The riding's scenic coastline along the St. Lawrence attracts visitors, and whale-watching in the lower estuary is a notable draw. Federal issues in 2011 included forestry sector aid, completion of the Autoroute 20 highway extension through the region, seasonal employment insurance reform — a critical issue given the riding's reliance on seasonal industries — and support for rural health care and post-secondary education.