Jonquiere

Located in the Saguenay--Lac-Saint-Jean region of northern Quebec, the riding of Jonquiere follows the Riviere aux Sables through the heart of the city of Saguenay's Jonquiere borough. The landscape is defined by the deep valleys of the Canadian Shield, boreal forest, and the massive industrial infrastructure of an aluminum smelting complex that has shaped the community since the 1920s.

Candidates

Karine Trudel (NDP) -- A letter carrier for Canada Post, Trudel served as regional president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) in Saguenay--Lac-Saint-Jean from 2007 to 2015. Her eight years of union leadership gave her a platform rooted in labour advocacy and the defence of public postal services, issues she brought to the federal campaign.

Marc Pettersen (Liberal) -- A municipal councillor in Saguenay, Pettersen entered the federal race with a focus on economic diversification, promoting the forestry industry, and developing the Saguenay and Lac-Saint-Jean regions.

Jean-Francois Caron (Bloc Quebecois) -- A political aide to provincial MNA Sylvain Gaudreault for eight years and the son of former Bloc Quebecois MP Andre Caron, Jean-Francois Caron ran on a platform centred on defending local jobs and Quebec sovereignty. The closure of the Graphic Packaging paperboard mill in Jonquiere, which eliminated approximately 140 positions in July 2015, was a driving concern for his campaign.

Ursula Larouche (Conservative) -- Larouche represented the Conservative Party in the riding.

Carmen Budilean (Green Party) -- Budilean carried the Green Party banner.

About the Riding

Jonquiere's economy has been built around the aluminum industry since the 1920s, when a major aluminum smelter was constructed in the company town of Arvida. Rio Tinto Alcan -- the successor to Alcan -- remains the region's dominant employer, with annual economic spillovers from its Saguenay--Lac-Saint-Jean operations exceeding $1.3 billion. The company invested heavily in its AP60 advanced smelting technology at the Jonquiere complex during this period. However, the riding also bore the weight of industrial restructuring: the closure of the Graphic Packaging paperboard mill in July 2015 eliminated roughly 140 jobs in a community already grappling with the challenges of a resource-dependent economy. Forestry, another traditional pillar, faced its own pressures from global commodity prices and shifting demand. Employment diversification, support for the forestry sector, and federal investment in regional infrastructure were the dominant issues in a tightly contested three-way race.