Montmagny—L’Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup

Montmagny—L’Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup is a vast rural riding in eastern Quebec, running some 170 kilometres along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River from Berthier-sur-Mer to L’Île-Verte. The riding encompasses four Regional County Municipalities—Montmagny, L’Islet, Kamouraska, and Rivière-du-Loup—and extends southward to within 50 kilometres of the Maine border. With close to 99% of residents listing French as their mother tongue, it is among the most francophone ridings in all of Canada and also one of the most Catholic.

Candidates

Bernard Généreux (Conservative) — An entrepreneur from La Pocatière, Généreux began his political career as mayor of his hometown in 2005 before winning the federal seat in a 2009 by-election. He lost the riding to the NDP’s François Lapointe by just five votes in 2011 following a judicial recount, then recaptured it in 2015 and held it in 2019. The 2021 contest marked his bid for a third consecutive term.

Simon Bérubé (Bloc Québécois) — A native of Saint-Pacôme in the Kamouraska MRC, Bérubé studied journalism at Cégep de Jonquière and later earned a degree in political science. He worked as a journalist in Kamouraska and then for the francophone community in Yellowknife, winning two journalism prizes before embarking on a career in international relations at Quebec’s National Assembly and Ministry of International Relations.

François Lapointe (Liberal) — Lapointe previously represented this riding as an NDP MP from 2011 to 2015, winning originally by a margin of five votes over Généreux after a recount. For 2021, he switched to the Liberal Party, citing a desire to advance environmental policy. In the interim he had worked in communications for regional environmental organizations in the Kamouraska and Rivière-du-Loup area.

Sean English (NDP)

About the Riding

This sprawling riding encompasses some of Quebec’s most storied rural landscapes. The St. Lawrence shoreline—dotted with historic villages, lighthouses, and the migratory bird sanctuaries of the Montmagny archipelago—anchors a tourism economy built around heritage, wildlife, and regional cuisine. Rivière-du-Loup, the largest town, serves as the commercial and institutional hub of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, with a hospital, college, and ferry service across the St. Lawrence to Saint-Siméon on the Charlevoix coast.

Agriculture—particularly dairy farming, livestock, and maple syrup production—remains central to the riding’s economy. The fertile lowlands of Kamouraska and L’Islet have sustained farming communities for centuries, and the region’s artisanal food producers have gained a national reputation. Small and medium manufacturing, forestry, and the service sector round out the economic base.

Labour shortages have been a defining issue in recent election cycles, with local employers struggling to fill positions in agriculture, manufacturing, and health care. Immigration policy, rural broadband access, and the viability of small-town services—hospitals, schools, and post offices—are persistent concerns. The riding’s conservative political tradition reflects a strong attachment to local autonomy, fiscal prudence, and the agricultural way of life that has shaped the south shore for generations.