Summary: Voters in this northwestern Quebec riding decisively ousted the Bloc Québécois incumbent here in 2011, and joined the orange wave in the province by electing Romeo Saganash, a prominent figure in the Quebec Cree community. Saganash is seeking re-election. The Bloc is looking to retake the seat with a former Parti Québécois MNA, Luc Ferland, who lost his seat in the 2014 provincial election.
Boundaries: This riding is all of northern and northwestern Quebec, including the community of Val d’Or. A minor boundary change adds a small portion of the Abitibi-Temiscamingue riding to this riding.
Last Election: NDP Saganash won with 44.8 per cent of vote, followed by Conservative Jean-Maurice Matte with 22.7 per cent. The incumbent at the time, Bloc Québécois Yvon Lévesque, fell to third place with just 18 per cent.
History: The Bloc Québécois had won 3 straight elections here before the NDP breakthrough in 2011. The Liberals had this seat for 2 terms before the Bloc.
Candidates
Conservative: Steven Hébert
NDP: Romeo Saganash, MP since 2011
Liberal: Pierre Dufour, travel agent
Bloc Québécois: Luc Ferland, former Parti Québécois MNA, 2007-2014
Green: Patrick Benoît, works in the mining sector
Rhino: Mario Gagnon