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Canada Votes 2008

Results, Ridings and Candidates

Bas-Richelieu - Nicolet - Bécancour

2008 Results

Bas-Richelieu-Nicolet-Bécancour
Party Candidate Votes Status
Updated: Nov. 7, 2008 5:00 PM EST 235/235 polls
BQ Louis Plamondon 26,814 Elected
CON Réjean Bériault 8,920
LIB Ghislaine Cournoyer 7,998
NDP Nourredine Seddiki 4,000
GRN Rebecca Laplante 1,338

Unofficial results were updated at the time shown following judicial recounts in six ridings. For more recent results, visit Elections Canada. The CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites. External links will open in a new window.

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This riding is located across from Trois-Rivières on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. It contains the regional county municipalities of Nicolet-Yamaska, Le Bas-Richelieu and Bécancour. The Odanak Indian Reserve No. 12 and Wôlinak Indian Reserve No. 11 fall in the riding. The major centres include Sorel-Tracy, Bécancour and Nicolet.

This riding is mostly urban but contains several farming communities. Manufacturing is the main industry, followed by retail trade and the service sector. The average family income is $62,646 and the unemployment rate is 6.7 per cent.

This is a largely francophone riding. More than 97 per cent of the residents list French as their mother tongue, while less than one-tenth of one per cent – just 730 people – list English. The total immigrant population is 1.8 per cent. About nine per cent of residents over the age of 25 have a university certificate or degree..

In the redistribution of 2004, 11 per cent of Lotbinière-L'érable was added in the east and the riding renamed Richelieu. The riding of Richelieu was established in 1867, but abolished in 1933. The riding of Richelieu-Verchères was created in 1933 and abolished in 1966. This riding was recreated in 1966 from Richelieu-Verchères and Nicolet-Yamaska. In 1996, small parts of Drummond, Verchères and Lotbinière were added. The riding name changed from Richelieu to Bas-Richelieu-Nicolet-Bécancour in 1998.

Population: 91,745 (2006 census; a decrease of 1% since 2001)

Political History

Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon continued to dominate in 2006, capturing 55 per cent of the votes. Plamondon was first elected in 1984 as a Progressive Conservative, the first PC to win since 1891. In 1988, after Meech Lake failed, Plamondon resigned from the PC caucus and was a founding member of the Bloc Québécois. He won the riding again in 1993, 1997, 2000 and 2004.

Liberal Florian Côté won from 1968 to 1974 and was followed by Liberal Jean-Louis Leduc in 1979 and 1980.

  • 1896-1980 inclusive - LIB
  • 1984, 1988 - PC
  • 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006 - BQ