Mirabel

Mirabel is a fast-growing riding in the Laurentides region roughly 57 kilometres northwest of Montreal. The city of Mirabel itself covers an enormous 484 square kilometres — one of the largest municipalities in Quebec by area — of which 87% remains dedicated to agriculture. The riding’s population surged 21% between 2016 and 2021 to roughly 61,000, making it one of the fastest-growing communities in Quebec. Mirabel was formed in 1971 through the merger of eight municipalities — Saint-Augustin, Saint-Benoît, Saint-Hermas, Saint-Janvier-de-Blainville, Sainte-Scholastique, Saint-Canut, Sainte-Monique, and Saint-Janvier-de-la-Croix — after the federal government expropriated roughly 97,000 acres of farmland from some 3,000 families to build Mirabel International Airport.

Candidates

Jean-Denis Garon (Bloc Québécois) — An economist with a doctorate from Queen’s University, Garon was a professor at UQAM’s School of Management Sciences where he directed the public administration bachelor’s program. He had been an economic columnist for the Journal de Montréal and a commentator on QUB radio and CKOI, and previously served as vice-president of knowledge transfer at CIRANO, a research centre with over 230 researchers. Running for the first time in 2021, he brought a strong policy focus on public finances and fiscal federalism.

François Loza (Liberal) — Loza represented the Liberal Party of Canada in Mirabel, campaigning on housing policy and support for workers through programs like the expanded Canada Workers Benefit.

Catherine Lefebvre (Conservative) — A native of Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac and resident of Pointe-Calumet, Lefebvre studied history, education, and law, and worked in immigration and family rights. She had previously run as the Conservative candidate in the riding of Bourassa in 2019.

Benoit Bourassa (NDP) — Bourassa carried the NDP banner in this Laurentides riding.

Mario Guay (Green) — Guay ran for the Green Party of Canada.

Christian Montpetit (People’s Party) — Montpetit represented the People’s Party of Canada.

About the Riding

The ghost of Mirabel Airport hangs over this riding’s politics. The 1969 expropriation uprooted thousands of farm families, and decades later, much of the seized land went unused after the airport’s passenger terminal closed in 2004. In January 2021, a Transport Canada deadline passed for expropriated owners or their heirs to express interest in buying back surplus land — a process that had dragged on for years and remained a source of deep community resentment.

Despite that painful history, the airport site has been repurposed into a major aerospace hub. The A220 commercial aircraft program headquarters and Airbus Atlantic Canada are both based in Mirabel, and until early 2021 Bombardier Aviation produced its CRJ700 series regional jets at a plant near the airport. Over 50 aerospace companies employ thousands in manufacturing and support roles in the Mirabel cluster, making aeronautics the riding’s signature industry alongside agriculture.

The riding’s rapid population growth brought acute pressure on housing, schools, and infrastructure. Young families drawn by lower home prices and proximity to Montreal strained municipal services in a community still adapting to its transformation from farmland to exurban boom town. Agricultural producers meanwhile continued to work the vast tracts of land that define the riding’s landscape, supported by municipal aid programs for farm startups, acquisitions, and organic agriculture.