Megantic--L'Erable--Lotbiniere

Megantic--L'Erable--Lotbiniere is an expansive rural riding in south-central Quebec, straddling the regions of Chaudiere-Appalaches, Centre-du-Quebec, and Estrie. Formerly known as Megantic--L'Erable, the riding was renamed and expanded under the 2023 representation order to include 11 municipalities from the Lotbiniere area. Its principal communities are Thetford Mines, Plessisville, and Lac-Megantic, and it covers roughly 5,900 square kilometres of Appalachian foothills, farmland, and forest. The population is approximately 87,000 and virtually entirely francophone.

Candidates

Luc Berthold (Conservative) -- Born in Sherbrooke in 1966, Berthold began his career as a radio host and journalist at CKLD in Thetford Mines before becoming editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper Le Courrier Frontenac. He later worked as a political assistant and communications adviser in the provincial government. He entered municipal politics in 2006 as a mayor, served as president of the local economic development corporation, and was first elected to Parliament in 2015. He rose to become Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party and Deputy House Leader of the Official Opposition. In early 2025, he disclosed a prostate cancer diagnosis but confirmed he would seek re-election.

Charles Mckaig (Liberal) -- Mckaig was acclaimed as the Liberal candidate for the riding, running on the party's platform of economic growth and social investment.

Rejean Hurteau (Bloc Quebecois) -- Hurteau carried the Bloc Quebecois banner, campaigning on Quebec's fiscal autonomy, agricultural supply management, and protections for rural communities.

Gabriel D'Astous (NDP) -- D'Astous represented the NDP, running on workers' rights, pharmacare, and rural development.

Marek Spacek (People's Party - PPC) -- Spacek ran for the People's Party on a platform of reduced government spending and lower immigration.

Yves Gilbert (Christian Heritage Party) -- Gilbert represented the Christian Heritage Party, campaigning on social conservative values and traditional family policy.

About the Riding

The riding's identity is inseparable from its resource and agricultural heritage. Thetford Mines was once the asbestos capital of the world, and the decline of that industry has forced decades of economic transition toward manufacturing, tourism, and services. The abandoned open-pit mines have been repurposed in part as geological tourism attractions. Plessisville, the self-proclaimed maple syrup capital of the world, anchors a thriving agri-food sector, and the broader region is a major contributor to Quebec's dairy production under the supply-management system.

Lac-Megantic bears the enduring legacy of the July 2013 rail disaster, when a runaway crude-oil train derailed and exploded in the town centre, killing 47 people and destroying much of the downtown core. The community has rebuilt, but rail safety and the regulation of hazardous-goods transport remain sensitive issues. In 2025, the campaign was shaped by US tariff threats to the riding's agricultural and manufacturing exports, defence of supply management, rural broadband connectivity, healthcare access in communities distant from major centres, and the chronic shortage of skilled workers in trades and manufacturing.