Madawaska—Restigouche

Occupying the northwestern corner of New Brunswick, this predominantly francophone riding runs from the city of Edmundston at the junction of the Saint John and Madawaska rivers northward to Campbellton on the Restigouche River at the Quebec border. French is the mother tongue of roughly eighty percent of the population, making it one of the most francophone ridings outside Quebec. The riding was newly configured under the 2012 redistribution, combining communities from the former Madawaska—Restigouche and parts of adjacent ridings.

Candidates

René Arseneault (Liberal) — A litigation lawyer who established his own practice in 1996 with his wife, Michèle Pelletier, Arseneault had built a two-decade legal career in the Edmundston area. He was also known as a singer-songwriter, having won the People's Choice Award at the Gala de la chanson de Caraquet in 1989.

Rosaire L'Italien (NDP) — A former Radio-Canada journalist, L'Italien was recruited by the NDP to run in the riding. He campaigned heavily on the need for job creation to stem the outflow of young people from the region.

Bernard Valcourt (Conservative) — A veteran of federal politics first elected as a Progressive Conservative in the 1984 Mulroney sweep, Valcourt had held several cabinet posts including Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in the early 1990s. Returning to Parliament in 2011, he served as Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development from 2013 until the election. His long political career included a period away from Parliament following a 1989 motorcycle accident.

Françoise Aubin (Green Party) — Aubin represented the Green Party in the riding.

About the Riding

The economy of Madawaska—Restigouche depends on forestry, agriculture, and small manufacturing. The region consistently records some of the highest unemployment rates in New Brunswick. Outmigration of younger residents to larger centres was a pressing concern during the campaign, with all major candidates acknowledging that reversing the population decline required new economic strategies. Edmundston's Twin Rivers Paper Company mill and forestry operations throughout Restigouche County remain pillars of the local economy, though the sector had contracted in the years preceding the election. Cross-border trade with Maine and Quebec also figures in the riding's commercial life, with Edmundston situated directly across the river from Madawaska, Maine.