Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix

This sprawling riding hugs the north bank of the St. Lawrence River from the Beauport neighbourhood of Quebec City northeast through the Côte-de-Beaupré and into the Charlevoix mountains, covering more than 11,000 square kilometres. It takes in the pilgrimage town of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, the pastoral Île d'Orléans, and the resort communities of Baie-Saint-Paul and La Malbaie in the Charlevoix region, which UNESCO has designated a Biosphere Reserve. With a 2011 population of approximately 94,000, the riding blends Quebec City suburbanites with rural and small-town residents whose livelihoods depend on tourism, agriculture, and forestry.

Candidates

Sylvie Boucher (Conservative) — A native of Victoriaville, Boucher worked in marketing and sales in the private sector and held various positions in the National Assembly of Quebec before entering federal politics. She was elected as MP for Beauport—Limoilou in 2006 and served as parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister. Defeated in the 2011 orange wave, she returned to contest this new riding in 2015.

Jean-Roger Vigneau (Liberal) — Originally from the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Vigneau worked for more than twenty years with the Société des casinos du Québec. He settled in Charlevoix, where he served as a municipal councillor in Saint-Aimé-des-Lacs beginning in 2013.

Sébastien Dufour (Bloc Québécois) — A native of La Malbaie with a bachelor's degree in political science, Dufour had spent fifteen years as a political adviser to Bloc Québécois and Parti Québécois parliamentarians before running as the Bloc's candidate.

Jonathan Tremblay (NDP) — The incumbent MP, Tremblay was elected in the predecessor riding of Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord during the 2011 NDP wave. A brickmason by trade, he was among the youngest members of the NDP caucus.

Patrick Kerr ran for the Green Party and Mario Desjardins Pelchat ran for Forces et Démocratie.

About the Riding

The riding's geography produces a diverse economy. Beauport, on Quebec City's eastern edge, is largely residential and closely tied to the capital's public-sector employment base. Along the Côte-de-Beaupré, the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré draws roughly half a million pilgrims annually, and the Mont-Sainte-Anne ski resort is a year-round tourism anchor. Île d'Orléans has been farmed since the days of New France and remains a centre for strawberries, apples, maple syrup, and artisanal food products; it attracts more than 600,000 visitors a year. Further northeast, the Charlevoix region relies heavily on tourism, fine dining, and the arts—Baie-Saint-Paul is known as a hub for painters and galleries. Federal issues in the riding included support for seasonal tourism workers, agricultural subsidies, infrastructure for rural broadband, and the environmental regulation of development in the UNESCO biosphere zone.