Beauséjour

Located in southeast New Brunswick across from P.E.I., this riding has the Northumberland Strait as its eastern boundary and Nova Scotia as its boundary in the south. Population centres include Shediac, Bouctouche, Richibucto, Memramcook, Rexton and Sackville, along with the Bouctouche, Richibucto, Indian Island and Fort Folly reserves.

More than 58 per cent of the riding's population is francophone. Just over four per cent is aboriginal and another three per cent immigrants. The 2006 census shows that unemployment is 12 per cent and the average family earns $60,782 annually.

In the 2004 redistribution, this riding lost about one-fifth of its population, but gained around 5,000 residents from the Miramichi riding and 2,500 from Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe.

Population: 76,259 (2006 census; an increase of 3.2% since 2001)

Political History

Liberal Dominic LeBlanc held on to his seat in 2006, fighting off Conservative Omer Leger.

The Liberals held this riding for several decades until 1997, when New Democrat Angela Vautour defeated LeBlanc by 1,975 votes. He fought back in 2000, besting Vautour by nearly 7,000 votes. LeBlanc held on to the seat in 2004, this time defeating Vautour by more than 10,000 votes.

Former MPs here include LeBlanc's father, Roméo LeBlanc, who later became a senator and then governor general. Jean Chrétien won a 1990 byelection here after he became the Liberal leader and before he ran in Quebec in 1993.

The riding was established in 1966 as Westmorland-Kent and in 1986 as Beauséjour. The name was changed to Beauséjour-Petitcodiac by a private member's bill passed by the House of Commons in November 1996. It was re-established as Beauséjour in the 2004 redistribution.

Westmorland-Kent:

• 1968-1984 inclusive - LIB

Beauséjour/Beauséjour-Petitcodiac:

• 1988, 1993 - LIB
• 1997 - NDP
• 2000, 2004, 2006 - LIB