federal politics

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

Voters in the Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon riding have voted to return longtime Bloc Québécois representative Claude DeBellefeuille to Ottawa for a fifth term.

Despite early numbers favouring the Liberal contender, Miguel Perras, the tally soon turned in DeBellefeuille’s favour and she handily retained the riding with at least 29,793 votes, or 43.9 per cent of the total ballots cast.

According to preliminary results reported by Elections Canada, Liberal Party candidate Perras finished with 21,791 votes or 32.1 per cent of the total vote, while Conservative candidate Priska St-Pierre received 13,096 votes or 19.3 per cent of the ballots cast. Tyler Jones of the New Democratic Party had the support of 1,637 voters for 2.4 per cent of the total vote, while Green Party candidate Kevin Solarik received 847 votes (1.2 per cent), and the People’s Party of Canada representative Martin Lévesque finished with 671 votes (1.0 per cent).

Of the 103,252 eligible voters in the Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon riding, at least 67,835 individuals exercised their right to vote at one of the 288 polls for a turnout of 65.7 per cent. Voter turnout was over three per cent higher than during the 2021 election, when DeBellefeuille was elected with over 47.8 per cent of the total vote. Nearly 27,000 individuals, or around a quarter of the total number of eligible voters, cast their ballots during the advance polling period over the long Easter weekend.

DeBellefeuille was surrounded by supporters Monday evening for a rally at La Baraque in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. Elections Canada called the riding shortly after 11 p.m., and DeBellefeuille addressed the room soon after.

“Especially during this particular election campaign, the people of Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon understood that the Bloc was still the right party to represent them in Ottawa,” she declared, while thanking her family for their support and patience and acknowledging the other riding candidates.

The following morning, DeBellefeuille said she was tired but had no intention of taking a break. She joined her team and volunteers for what has become a post-election tradition to clear out their campaign headquarters. “I’m still excited,” she said following her election win. She explained that after having lost twice during wave elections, she never let her guard down. “I didn’t want to think it was a sure thing. I worked 37 days on the campaign trail with my team.”

DeBellefeuille said that despite the uncertainty surrounding a possible Liberal wave sweeping the riding, there was no shortage of support. “This was the election where I received the most love and affection, where people were generous and came up to me,” she added, noting she is very happy with the result.

The Bloc Québécois stalwart said she was especially grateful to voters for trusting her with a fifth term, though she mentioned she has never been elected during a majority government. “That’s the story of my life,” she laughed, before adding that she likes action and expects her party will serve as the balance of power.

Across the country, the Bloc Québécois received 6.3 per cent of the total vote, and Elections Canada is projecting that a diminished team of 22 MPs will return to Ottawa. While perhaps not the election night the party was hoping for, the results are more positive than those of the New Democratic Party, which was reduced to one seat in Quebec and an additional six across the country, which is not enough to maintain its official party status.

DeBellefeuille said that as a result, the Bloc Québécois “will have a lot of bills on our shoulders.” She explained that whether the party allies itself with the Liberals or the Conservatives, “It is going to be an interesting game for us.”

DeBellefeuille was part of the Bloc Québécois shadow cabinet as public safety critic at the time the election was called. She said these positions will likely be confirmed during a caucus meeting in the coming weeks, and while nothing has been confirmed, she says she would like to stay on in her role.

The MP said she is especially pleased that her team continued to serve the constituents in the riding throughout the campaign. “Our office did not close, except on election day,” she confirmed. “This makes me very proud because it reflects who we are. We are hard-working people who work for our community,” she declared.

DeBellefeuille says this conviction carried over into the campaign. “We had an incredible team of dedicated volunteers who were always in a good mood. I told myself that for my seventh election, I wanted it to be fun. And that is exactly what happened,” she said.

As of Tuesday morning, the deputy was already back at work with appearances scheduled for the next few weeks. “I have just been re-elected; I don’t have time to take time off,” she laughed, before suggesting she may take a little time to recover later on, but certainly not during the immediate aftermath of this consequential election.