Riviere-du-Nord

Centred on Saint-Jerome at the foot of the Laurentian Mountains, Riviere-du-Nord encompasses the regional county municipality of La Riviere-du-Nord. The riding includes the communities of Sainte-Sophie, Prevost, Saint-Hippolyte, and Saint-Colomban, through which the Riviere du Nord winds before joining the Riviere des Mille Iles to the south.

Candidates

Rheal Fortin (Bloc Quebecois) — The incumbent since 2015, Fortin was a practising lawyer who had been based in Saint-Jerome since 1992, serving as president of the law firm Bissonnette Fortin Giroux. He studied law at the Universite de Sherbrooke after working earlier in his career as a factory worker in Laval. Between 2015 and 2017, he served as interim leader of the Bloc Quebecois, guiding the party through a turbulent period of internal divisions before Martine Ouellet assumed the permanent leadership.

Florence Gagnon (Liberal) — A strategic development consultant, Gagnon was 30 years old and held a master's degree in business administration from HEC Montreal. She emphasized her local roots and positioned herself as a representative who could deliver results within a Liberal government.

Sylvie Frechette (Conservative) — An Olympic gold medallist in synchronized swimming at the 1992 Barcelona Games, Frechette also won a team silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. After retiring from competition she worked as a project manager for the Canadian Olympic Committee and as a coach for Cirque du Soleil. Her candidacy drew national media attention as one of the Conservatives' highest-profile Quebec recruits.

Myriam Ouellette (NDP) — Ouellette, a resident of Saint-Jerome who worked as a secretary at the Commission scolaire de la Riviere-du-Nord, carried the NDP banner in the riding.

Joey Leckman (Green Party) — Leckman carried the Green Party banner in the riding.

Normand Michaud (People's Party), Nicolas Riqueur-Laine (Pour l'Independance du Quebec), and Lucie St-Gelais (Independent) also ran.

About the Riding

Saint-Jerome, with a population of approximately 77,000, is the administrative and economic capital of the Laurentians. Historically a gateway for settlers heading into northern Quebec — a legacy commemorated by the statue of Cure Labelle in Parc Labelle — the city now serves as a regional hub for health care, education, and commercial services. Tourism linked to the Laurentian ski resorts and the P'tit Train du Nord cycling trail supports the local economy, while residential growth in surrounding communities like Saint-Colomban has made commuter transportation a pressing concern. In 2019, the campaign focused on transportation links to Montreal, health-care capacity at the regional hospital, affordable housing pressures driven by exurban growth, and environmental protection of the waterways that give the riding its name.