Summary: NDP MP Mathieu Ravignat defeated Conservative cabinet minister Lawrence Cannon to claim this seat in 2011, a significant victory in a riding that had elected a government MP in every election since 1980. He is seeking re-election.
Boundaries: This large riding includes the northwest corner of Gatineau, and stretches north to the border of the Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou riding. It includes the RCM’s of Pontiac and La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau, most of the RCM of Les Collines-de-l’Outaouais, and the Rapid Lake and Kitigan Zibi Indian Reserves.
Last Election: The NDP’s victory was a decisive one, with Ravignat taking 45.7 per cent of the vote, compared to 29.5 per cent for Cannon.
History: Until 2011, this had been a bellwether riding beginning in 1980, always electing an MP with the party that formed government.
Candidates
Conservative: Benjamin Woodman, political staffer
NDP: Mathieu Ravignat, MP since 2011
Liberal: Will Amos, lawyer and University of Ottawa professor
Bloc Québécois: Nicolas Lepage
Green: Colin Griffiths, retired
Marxist-Leninist: Louis Lang
Strength in Democracy: Pascal Medieu