Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter
Claude DeBellefeuille launched her seventh election campaign on April 3 in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield with her eyes set on a fifth term in Ottawa – this time representing the Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon (BSSH) riding.
DeBellefeuille said she was motivated by the positive energy in the crowd of over 150 supporters as she took to the stage at the Microbrasserie du Vieux Canal, referring to this election as one of the most significant in her 19-year career as a politician. She thanked her team, her family, including her father, René, who looked on proudly, her supporters, and the 150 volunteers working on her campaign.
A social worker by training, DeBellefeuille has worked as the director general for the Centre d’Action Bénévole de Valleyfield, and with the Centre Intégré de Santé et Services Sociaux de la Montérégie Ouest (CISSSMO). She was first elected to parliament as an MP between 2006 and 2011, where she held various responsibilities within the Bloc Québécois as deputy critic for agriculture and agri-food, as critic for natural resources, and culture and heritage critic. She was appointed as the party’s deputy whip in 2008, and chief whip in 2010.
DeBellefeuille reprised her role as whip after she was re-elected in 2019 and in 2021. After stepping down from the position in December 2024, she most recently took on the role of public security and civil protection critic within her party.
Since announcing her candidacy, DeBellefeuille has spoken out in support of protecting supply management and agriculture in trade agreements, promising this would be the subject of the first bill proposed by the Bloc Québécois as soon as parliament reconvenes following the election in June. “During international negotiations, all countries can protect a certain number of products, and we must ensure that our dairy, eggs, and poultry are not affected,” she insists, noting there are more than 1,000 farms and over 2,000 agricultural producers in the BSSH riding. “It is a pillar of the Quebec agricultural model, and we must not give anything up,” she says, referring to anticipated trade negotiations with the U.S. administration.
DeBellefeuille has also promised to defend and protect the economic interests of small and medium-sized businesses in the riding in the context of the trade war with the United States. “In the coming weeks, I will be criss-crossing the constituency to remind people that it is inconceivable to abandon Quebec’s specific economic interests in the context of negotiations with our American neighbors,” she says, noting entrepreneurs are already feeling the impact of tariffs.
The experienced candidate has been meeting with entrepreneurs, most recently during the annual general assembly for the Association des Gens d’Affaires d’Ormstown et des Environs on April 1, to gain a better understanding of the impacts being experienced on the ground. She is also working with the different economic development departments at local MRCs and is part of a monitoring committee initiated by Développement Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
“Since the election of Donald Trump, the world we live in has changed. In the face of the tariff threats and the difficult negotiations to come, the danger is that Canada’s economic interests will be prioritized over Quebec economic sectors,” she explains, noting “It is the Bloc Québécois that defends our workers, our businesses, our farmers, and our seniors.”
Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville
Patrick O’Hara opened his campaign headquarters on March 29 in Chateauguay, where he is running for the second time representing the Bloc Québécois.
O’Hara was born in British Columbia and was adopted by a family of farmers who eventually settled on Montreal’s North Shore. It was a passion for hockey that first led O’Hara to discover Chateauguay. It was here that he opened his first business before joining the La Cage aux Sports group, where he worked as a shareholder-operator in Saint-Constant for several years. Eventually he joined the Chateauguay-based distributor Entreprises Robert Thibert as vice-president of business development, marketing, and public relations for North America.
O’Hara has also played an important role in the community, serving on the board of directors for the Fondation Gisèle Faubert in Mercier, the Centre Horizon in Léry, and the Fondation Anna-Laberge in Chateauguay.
In 2021, O’Hara lost the election to Liberal incumbent Brenda Shanahan by 12 votes following a judicial recount. He says he is returning with the same determination to become an MP “who is close to the people of this constituency that I love so much.”