Lac-Saint-Jean

Lac-Saint-Jean sprawls across the vast territory surrounding the lake of the same name in northeastern Quebec, extending north and west into the boreal wilderness. The riding takes in the cities of Alma, Dolbeau-Mistassini, Roberval, Saint-Félicien, Normandin, Desbiens, and Métabetchouan–Lac-à-la-Croix, as well as dozens of smaller municipalities and unorganized territories reaching toward Chibougamau. It is one of Quebec's most homogeneous ridings — 98.5% of residents speak French, 92% identify as white, and nearly 7% are Indigenous.

Candidates

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Bloc Québécois) — Born in 1979, Brunelle-Duceppe is the son of former Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe and grandson of legendary Quebec actor Jean Duceppe. Before entering politics, he built a career in the film industry as a technician, screenwriter, and director. First elected in Lac-Saint-Jean in 2019, he served as the Bloc's critic for immigration, refugees, citizenship, and human rights.

Serge Bergeron (Conservative) — Bergeron brought public administration experience to his candidacy, having served as director general of the Commission scolaire du Pays-des-Bleuets, the regional school board. He represented the Conservative alternative in a riding where the party competes for second place.

Élodie Jean (Liberal) — Jean carried the Liberal banner in a region where the party has struggled to gain traction since the sovereignty movement took root in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean area.

François Bouchard (NDP) — Bouchard stood as the NDP candidate, seeking to rebuild the party's regional presence after the collapse of its 2011 gains.

About the Riding

The Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region's economy rests on natural resources — forestry, aluminum smelting, hydroelectric power, and agriculture. Alma, the riding's industrial hub, hosts a Resolute Forest Products plant, a Rio Tinto Alcan aluminum smelter, and the Île-Maligne hydroelectric station. Industrial development in the region accelerated with nineteenth-century sawmills, followed by pulp mills — the first at Val-Jalbert in 1901 — and aluminum plants beginning in 1943.

Agriculture remains vital despite the northern latitude. The region is famous for its wild blueberry production, with some 400 producers cultivating the fruit that gives the area its nickname, "le pays des bleuets" (blueberry country). Dairy farming generates over $100 million annually, and co-operative agricultural enterprises have deep roots in the local economy.

Lac-Saint-Jean itself is a massive glacial lake fed by numerous rivers, including the Péribonka, and drains into the Saguenay River. Tourism draws visitors for fishing, cycling the 256-kilometre Véloroute des Bleuets around the lake, and the annual International Swimming Marathon. The riding's vast geography, aging population, and reliance on resource industries shape a political landscape where economic diversification, rural services, and environmental stewardship dominate the discourse.