Summary: The longtime home to Jean Chrétien, Saint-Maurice—Champlain will elect a third MP in as many elections this October, as one-term NDP-turned-Liberal MP Lise St-Denis is stepping down.
Boundaries: A large sprawling riding immediately to the north of the St. Lawrence and east of Trois-Rivières, the riding’s main population centre is Shawinigan, but also extends far north, including the regional county municipalities of Le Haut-Saint-Maurice, Les Chenaux and Mékinac. The riding gained the eastern rural areas of Trois-Rivières through redistribution.
Last Election: NDP candidate Lise St-Denis defeated Bloc MP Jean-Yves Laforest by 9.8 per cent to win this riding. However, she defected to the Liberal Party less than one year into her term, explaining her decision by telling reporters, “They voted for Jack Layton. Jack Layton died.” She has chosen not to run in this election.
History: The area had been held by the BQ from 2004 until 2011. However, it is best known for being the electoral home of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, who was MP for Saint-Maurice from 1963 to 1988, and again from 1993 to 2004.
Demographics: An older, poorer riding, the median age of 48.7 (as of the 2011 census) is third highest in Quebec, and the average income of $30,647 is 11th lowest. Just 0.98 per cent of residents were immigrants according to the 2011 National Household Survey, the ninth lowest number in the province.
Candidates
Conservative: Jacques Grenier, Shawinigan city councillor and police officer
NDP: Jean-Yves Tremblay, longtime Shawinigan city councillor
Liberal: François-Philippe Champagne, Vice-Chairman at Bionest Technologies
Green: Martial Toupin
Bloc Québécois: Sacki Carignan-Deschamps, social worker and teacher
Marxist-Leninist: Jean-Paul Bedard
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