Shefford

Shefford stretches across southern Quebec between Montreal and Sherbrooke, straddling the Monteregie and Estrie regions. The riding encompasses most of the regional county municipality of La Haute-Yamaska (excluding Bromont), central and eastern portions of the Rouville RCM, and the southwestern corner of Le Val-Saint-Francois. One of only three federal ridings that has existed continuously since Confederation in 1867, its landscape transitions from the flat agricultural lowlands of the St. Lawrence plain to the rolling foothills of the Appalachian range.

Candidates

Andreanne Larouche (Bloc Quebecois) — Larouche studied art and media technology at Cegep de Jonquiere and holds a bachelor's degree in applied politics from the Universite de Sherbrooke. She worked for former Bloc MP Christian Ouellet and for a Member of Quebec's National Assembly, and served as a project manager for Alternative Justice and Mediation, focusing on raising awareness about elder abuse. She sat on the boards of the Ecosphere Group and the Sutton Museum of Communications and History.

Pierre Breton (Liberal) — The incumbent since 2015, Breton holds a business administration degree from UQAM and had worked for corporations including Bombardier and Viasystems Canada. Before entering federal politics, he spent a decade in the human resources department of the Societe des alcools du Quebec and sat on Granby's city council beginning in 2005.

Nathalie Clermont (Conservative) — A dentist, Clermont graduated in dental medicine from Universite Laval and opened a dental clinic in Bromont in 1993, operating her practice for over twenty-five years before entering the political arena.

Raymonde Plamondon (NDP) — An established figure in the agricultural sector, Plamondon served as president of the Federation des agricultrices du Quebec. She was mayor of Saint-Valerien-de-Milton for three terms, from 2005 to 2017.

Katherine Turgeon (Green Party), Mariam Sabbagh (People's Party), and Darlene Daviault (Pour l'Independance du Quebec) also contested the riding.

About the Riding

Granby, the riding's largest city with a population approaching 69,000, is the economic and cultural centre of the constituency. The Zoo de Granby — the largest zoo in Quebec and in Canada — draws hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and anchors the city's tourism economy. Granby's industrial base has diversified from its textile-manufacturing origins into metal products, lumber processing, and food production.

Valcourt, in the riding's eastern reaches, occupies an outsized place in Quebec's industrial history. Joseph-Armand Bombardier developed the snowmobile there in the 1930s, and Bombardier Recreational Products maintains its global headquarters and major manufacturing operations in the town. The Musee de l'ingeniosite J. Armand Bombardier celebrates this heritage, and BRP's supply chain of parts manufacturers and service providers makes it one of the riding's most significant employers.

Agriculture remains central to the riding's identity. The lowland areas support dairy farming, apple orchards, and maple syrup production, while Rougemont — situated on one of the Monteregian Hills — is the heart of Quebec's apple-growing region. The mix of agricultural tradition, manufacturing heritage, and growing suburban pressures from communities closest to the Montreal-area autoroute corridors defined the riding's political landscape heading into the election.