Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis

Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis is located in the Chaudière-Appalaches region south of Quebec City, covering a broad stretch of territory from the suburban eastern sectors of the city of Lévis all the way to the Canada–United States border. The riding encompasses the regional county municipalities of Bellechasse and most of Les Etchemins, along with the eastern portion of Lévis. Significant population centres include parts of Lévis itself, Saint-Anselme, Sainte-Claire, Lac-Etchemin, and Sainte-Justine. The terrain transitions from the suburban and semi-rural lowlands near the Saint Lawrence to the more rugged, forested foothills of the Appalachian range as one moves south toward the border. The population of approximately 112,000 is overwhelmingly francophone.

Candidates

Dominique Vien (Conservative) — Born in Lévis in 1967, Vien studied communications at Université Laval and worked as a journalist and radio host at stations in Lac-Etchemin and at Radio-Canada's CBV-FM in Quebec City. She served as a Quebec Liberal member of the National Assembly for Bellechasse from 2003 to 2014, holding cabinet posts under Premier Jean Charest including Minister for Government Services. After losing her provincial seat to the Coalition Avenir Québec in 2018, she transitioned to federal politics with the Conservative Party.

Marie-Christine Richard (Bloc Québécois) — A social worker by training, Richard spent more than a decade working with elderly clients experiencing loss of autonomy and with people facing mental health challenges. In the two years preceding her candidacy, she served as political attaché and citizen services coordinator for Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux in the neighbouring riding of Drummond.

Daniel Vaillancourt (Liberal) — A Franco-Ontarian by origin who had resided in Lévis for approximately ten years, Vaillancourt worked as a regional director for Quebec and Eastern Ontario within a financial institution.

About the Riding

Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis is a riding of contrasts. Its northern edge, within the city of Lévis, is firmly part of the Quebec City metropolitan area—a suburban landscape of residential developments, commercial corridors, and proximity to the provincial capital across the Saint Lawrence. Lévis itself is Quebec's seventh-largest city and has grown steadily as a commuter hub and administrative centre, home to the headquarters of the Desjardins Group, one of Canada's largest financial cooperatives.

Moving southward, the riding becomes progressively more rural. The Bellechasse lowlands are productive agricultural territory—dairy farming, maple syrup production, and mixed agriculture define the landscape. The Etchemins region, farther south and closer to the border, is characterized by rolling hills, dense boreal and mixed forests, and smaller communities where forestry and wood processing remain important.

The riding has historically leaned conservative in both provincial and federal politics. Steven Blaney held the seat for the Conservatives from 2006 to 2019, and the region's socially conservative, entrepreneurial character has consistently distinguished it from the sovereigntist-leaning ridings elsewhere in rural Quebec. The 2021 contest saw the Conservatives hold the seat comfortably with Dominique Vien, drawing on her deep roots in the region and her established provincial political career.