Saint-Maurice—Champlain

Saint-Maurice—Champlain was a vast riding stretching from the industrial city of Shawinigan on the Saint-Maurice River northward through the forested hinterland of the Mauricie region. It encompassed the city of Shawinigan, the regional county municipalities of Les Chenaux, Mékinac, and Le Haut-Saint-Maurice, and reached as far north as the remote town of La Tuque. The riding covered an enormous geographic area, from the settled communities along the St. Lawrence lowlands to the boreal wilderness of the Canadian Shield.

Candidates

Lise St-Denis (NDP) — Born in 1940, St-Denis was a retired teacher who held bachelor's and master's degrees in Quebec literature and education. She had previously run as the NDP candidate in Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher in the 2008 federal election, where she was defeated. She entered the 2011 campaign in Saint-Maurice—Champlain as a first-time candidate in the riding.

Jean-Yves Laforest (Bloc Québécois) — The incumbent MP, Laforest was born in Shawinigan in 1949 and had worked as an administrator before entering federal politics. He was first elected in the 2006 federal election and was re-elected in 2008. During his time in the House of Commons, he served as the BQ critic on issues including trade policy and government accountability.

Jacques Grenier (Conservative) — Grenier was a retired police officer who had served for thirty years in the region, initially at the Grand-Mère public security post and later with the Sûreté du Québec. He was active in community organizations and also served as a municipal councillor in the Shawinigan area.

Yves Tousignant (Liberal) — Tousignant carried the Liberal banner in the riding.

Pierre Audette ran for the Green Party.

About the Riding

Shawinigan, the riding's largest population centre with roughly 50,000 residents, had been shaped by its history as a cradle of Quebec's hydroelectric industry. The harnessing of the Shawinigan Falls in the early 1900s powered one of Canada's largest industrial complexes, attracting aluminum smelting, pulp and paper, and chemical manufacturing. By 2011, however, much of that industrial base had contracted. The closure and downsizing of major mills and plants over the preceding decades had left the city in a prolonged period of economic transition, with efforts to diversify into tourism, technology, and small manufacturing.

North of Shawinigan, the riding's character shifted dramatically. The Mékinac RCM was over 90 percent forested, and forestry remained a major employer, supporting operations like the Coopérative Forestière du Haut-Saint-Maurice. The town of La Tuque, deep in the boreal forest, served as a hub for forestry and hydroelectric operations along the upper Saint-Maurice River. The small towns of Saint-Tite, known for its annual Western Festival, and Sainte-Thècle dotted the southern portions of the Mékinac region.

The riding was closely associated with former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, who had represented the predecessor riding of Saint-Maurice from 1963 to 1986 and again from 1993 to 2003. Federal issues of concern included support for the forestry sector, economic diversification for deindustrializing communities, and infrastructure investment for the region's far-flung rural areas.