Summary: One of just five seats the Conservatives won in Quebec in 2011. Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel is running again, seeking a fourth trip to Ottawa.
Boundaries: This is a large riding in Central Quebec. It was formerly called Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean. Boundary changes this year move Alma into this riding.
Last Election: Conservative Lebel won with 45.7 per cent of the vote. The NDP candidate, Yvon Guay, finished second with 27.7 per cent.
History: Bloc Québécois MP Michel Gauthier won this seat in the party’s first federal election 1993. He kept it until he resigned in 2007. Lebel was elected in the subsequent by-election.
Demographics: A heavily Francophone riding, Lac-Saint-Jean has the lowest percentage of immigrants (0.69 per cent) and people whose first language is English (0.39 per cent) in all of Quebec.
Candidates
Conservative: Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, MP since 2007
NDP: Gisèle Dallaire, industrial psychologist
Liberal: Sabin Simard, former mining company executive
Bloc Québécois: Sabin Gaudreault, retired teacher
Green: Laurence Requilé