Hull—Aylmer

Hull—Aylmer covers the western portion of the city of Gatineau, from the historic downtown core of Hull—which faces Parliament Hill across the Ottawa River—westward through the residential suburb of Aylmer along the shores of Lac Deschenes. With a population of approximately 113,000, the riding is home to a large bilingual population, federal government offices, the Canadian Museum of History, and a mix of urban density in Hull and leafy suburban neighbourhoods in Aylmer. The riding has been held by the Liberals nearly continuously since 1917, with only a brief NDP interregnum from 2011 to 2015.

Candidates

Greg Fergus (Liberal) is the incumbent, first elected in 2015. In October 2023, he made history as the first Black Speaker of the House of Commons in Canada and in any G7 country. A member of the Liberal Party since his youth, he served as president of the Young Liberals of Canada from 1994 to 1996, earned degrees in social science and international relations, and worked as a political staffer for Liberal ministers Pierre Pettigrew and Jim Peterson. He was later named national director of the Liberal Party under Stéphane Dion. In Parliament, he served as parliamentary secretary to multiple ministers and co-founded the Parliamentary Black Caucus.

Jill Declare (Conservative) has been involved in Conservative politics for more than 30 years and works as a member's assistant to Alberta MP Garnett Genuis. A lifelong Aylmer resident, she improved on her party's fourth-place 2021 finish by moving into second place.

Alice Grondin (Bloc Québécois) holds a bachelor's degree in healthcare administration, two master's degrees in business administration and human resources, and is completing a doctorate in business administration. She has volunteered with Médecins sans Frontières in Montreal and Toronto and founded a running club in her community.

Pascale Matecki (NDP) has lived in Hull–Aylmer for 15 years and has been actively involved in local community movements. She serves as president of the Quartier Wright Residents' Association and has taught at the University of Ottawa while helping develop anti-discrimination training programs.

Frédéric Morin-Paquette (Green Party) ran for the Green Party of Canada.

Jean-Jacques Desgranges (People's Party) represented the People's Party of Canada.

Alexandre Deschênes (Marxist-Leninist) ran for the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada.

About the Riding

Like neighbouring Gatineau, Hull—Aylmer's economy is heavily dependent on the federal public service. The Canadian Museum of History—formerly the Museum of Civilization—is one of the country's most visited cultural institutions and a significant local employer. Federal office complexes in Hull's downtown core house departments including Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations.

The riding's bilingual character is distinctive even by National Capital Region standards. While francophone residents form the majority, Aylmer has historically had a sizable anglophone community, and federal bilingualism requirements in government hiring are a perennial local concern.

In 2025, the campaign was dominated by anxiety over federal public-service cuts and the struggling downtown Hull core, where remote-work policies left office towers partially vacant and nearby businesses suffering. Housing affordability was an equally pressing issue, as Aylmer's family-friendly neighbourhoods attracted buyers priced out of Ottawa. Federal investment in the proposed Gatineau tramway, healthcare access, and the revitalization of Hull's urban centre rounded out the key local debates.