Richmond—Arthabaska

Straddling the Centre-du-Quebec and Estrie regions at the foothills of the Appalachians, Richmond—Arthabaska takes in the regional county municipalities of Arthabaska and Les Sources along with the centre of Le Val-Saint-Francois. The riding's gently rolling hills and mixed forests give way to productive farmland in the river valleys, with Victoriaville as the principal urban centre at roughly 45,000 residents.

The seat had been a Bloc Quebecois stronghold under Andre Bellavance, who won four consecutive terms beginning in 2004. But Bellavance quit the Bloc in August 2014 amid a dispute with newly elected party leader Mario Beaulieu and announced he would sit as an independent and not seek re-election. His departure opened a genuinely competitive race in a riding that had not elected a Conservative since the days of the old Progressive Conservatives.

Candidates

Alain Rayes (Conservative) — The sitting mayor of Victoriaville since 2009, Rayes brought strong local name recognition to the race. Trained as a mathematics teacher with a master's in educational administration, he had overseen significant municipal infrastructure investments during his time as mayor, including the construction of the Le Carre 150 cultural venue and the Sani-Marc sports complex. He joined the Conservative candidacy in the spring of 2015.

Marc Desmarais (Liberal) — Desmarais ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding, seeking to build on the party's national momentum.

Myriam Beaulieu (NDP) — Beaulieu represented the NDP in a riding where the party had limited historical support.

Olivier Nolin (Bloc Quebecois) — Nolin carried the Bloc banner in a seat the party had held for a decade but was now defending without its long-serving incumbent.

Laurier Busque (Green Party) — Busque ran for the Green Party.

About the Riding

Victoriaville is widely recognized as a centre of sustainable development in Quebec. The city is also a hub for dairy farming and furniture manufacturing, two pillars of the regional economy. Smaller communities like Richmond, Windsor, and Asbestos (a town still bearing the legacy of its chrysotile mining past) round out the riding's economic geography. Federal issues in 2015 included agricultural trade policy, support for small manufacturers, and the transition away from asbestos extraction in the former mining towns of the region. The riding's overwhelmingly francophone population—over 95 percent French-speaking—gave it a distinct political character within Quebec's Centre-du-Quebec corridor.