Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

Election signs are already going up throughout the Valley as area candidates launched their campaigns over the weekend.

Across Canada, voters will head to the polls on April 28 after a 37-day campaign. At five weeks, this is the shortest allowable campaign period under Canadian law. Advance voting in both ridings will take place over the Easter weekend from April 18-21.

Area voters will now select representatives in the Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon (BSSH) riding and in Chateauguay-Les-Jardins-de-Napierville following the most recent electoral district redistribution. The boundaries for the ridings were enlarged to account for population growth and demographic changes across the region.

The candidates vying to represent the BSSH riding include frontrunner Claude DeBellefeuille, who is looking for her fifth term in office for the Bloc Québécois. She is running against Miguel Perras of the Liberal Party, as well as Tyler Jones for the New Democratic Party (NDP). Kristian Solarik will represent the Green Party, while Martin Lévesque stumps for the People’s Party of Canada (PPC). As of press time, the Conservative Party had not confirmed its nominee.

Change will be coming for the Chateauguay—Les-Jardins-de-Napierville riding as current MP Brenda Shanahan has stepped away. The candidates looking to take over this seat include Bloc Québécois nominee Patrick O’Hara, David De Repentigny for the Conservative Party, newcomer Nathalie Provost for the Liberal Party, and Nicholas Guerin, who represents the PPC. The NDP and the Green Party had not confirmed their candidates as of press time.