Nelson Sergerie, LJI
CHANDLER – The victory of Bloc Québécois candidate Alexis Deschênes over incumbent Member of Parliament Diane Lebouthillier wasn’t nearly as close as a lot of people had expected.
Mr. Deschênes was elected with 45.8% of the vote, compared to 38.3% for Ms. Lebouthillier. Conservative Party candidate Jean-Pierre Pigeon managed to secure 12.4%. Although she didn’t campaign, New Democrat Denise Giroux received 1.8%, Shawn Grenier of the Rhinoceros Party 1.0%, and People’s Party of Canada candidate Christian Rioux garnered a meager 0.8%. Voter turnout reached only 59.59%.
Ms. Lebouthillier could not pinpoint what tipped the scales, noting that she campaigned across the riding, speaking of her record and her game plan for a possible term. She has no regrets though, particularly her decisions in the fisheries sector. “All the decisions I’ve made, I would make the same decisions again,” she said after learning that she had been defeated.
Losing her ministerial seat didn’t work against her. “Not at all, because when you look at the cabinet level, Mr. Carney had decisions to make. With a large riding like we had—because it’s a huge territory—there are all the issues: agriculture, forestry, fisheries, industry, trade, six airports, a mountain range, two time zones. We have Canada in one riding. The challenges are immense,” she said.
For Diane Lebouthillier, this defeat marks the end of her political career. “I’m going back to my property, where I can enjoy myself and stop travelling. Surprisingly, I hate travelling. I’ve had my travel experiences since 2015. Now I’m packing my bags. I’m going to take care of my family, spend time with my grandchildren, my mother, and my partner. I’m going to enjoy life,” the outgoing MP concluded.
Conservative candidate Jean-Pierre Pigeon was satisfied with the result, finishing third with his best result ever, even though he was running for the fourth time. Although he received just 12.4%, his election expenses will be reimbursed for the first time.
“I think it’s the team I had, it was my fourth time running, people knew me,” said Mr. Pigeon, who confirmed this would be his last time as a candidate. However, he plans to continue campaigning for the Conservatives, something he has done since 1977.
People’s Party of Canada candidate Christian Rioux was disappointed with his result. He laments that the Donald Trump effect took up too much space in the election campaign.
“The media and the other parties used Trump a lot as a distraction rather than talking about their platforms. They capitalized on the fear of Trump,” said Mr. Rioux, who was running for the second time. He isn’t ruling out running again.