BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report

The Liberals and Bloc Québécois split the ridings in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region in last week’s federal election, with Liberal incumbent Peter Schiefke easily picking up his fourth mandate in the newly redrawn riding of Vaudreuil.

“We will defend our jobs in Vaudreuil, and our jobs across the country,” Schiefke told supporters at his campaign headquarters minutes after being declared the winner in the riding on election night.

Schiefke garnered just under 58 per cent of the votes cast on April 28, surpassing the 46-per-cent support he had earned in the 2021 election. He was first elected in 2015.

“We have a strong plan, a clear plan to protect Canada against Donald Trump and the threats against us,” he said to supporters.

Conservative candidate Thomas Barré came in second, collecting almost 23 per cent of the vote, followed by the Bloc’s Christopher Massé, who racked up just under 15 per cent of ballots cast.

The Vaudreuil riding, which was redrawn since the 2021 vote, lost some geographic territory. It now includes only Vaudreuil-Dorion, St. Lazare, Hudson, Rigaud, Vaudreuil sur le Lac, L’Île Cadieux and the four municipalities on Île Perrot. The municipalities of Les Cèdres and Pointe des Cascades were merged into the newly renamed neighouring riding of Beauharnois–Salaberry–Soulanges–Huntingdon.

In Beauharnois–Salaberry–Soulanges–Huntingdon, Bloc incumbent Claude DeBellefeuille held on to her seat, capturing just under 44 per cent of the vote, staving off what looked like a forceful challenge from Liberal candidate Miguel Perras, who held the lead early in the evening on election night as the first polls were being reported.

Perras would end up second in the vote count by the end of the night, collecting 32 per cent of the votes cast and shaving off support from the Bloc’s win in the previous election.

Conservative candidate Priska St-Pierre came in third in the riding, with 19.4 per cent support.