Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou (Quebec) 2/338

 Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou (Quebec)

Our next riding is Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou.

Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou is the third largest federal riding by size, larger than the Yukon territory. The riding of Abitibi was created in 1966 and was redistricted into its current riding in 2003. The largest city is Val-d'Or at 32,491 residents (2016 Census) and the riding also contains several indigenous nations (Chisasibi, Eastmain, Mistissini, Nemiscau, Waskaganish, Waswanipi and Wemindji). 

Politically, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou is not immune to trends. In 2011, the NDP picked up the seat from the Bloc Quebecois, the seat was held in 2015 by less than 5 points. But by the 2019 election and the major loss of support for the NDP in Quebec, the seat swung 18 points towards the Bloc Quebecois. 

The poll-by-poll results reveal an interesting trend of a Liberal north, an NDP west coast, and a very dense support for the Bloc in the cities of Chibougamau and Val-d'Or. (Election Atlas) The riding was 22/78 in Quebec and 76/338 in Canada and is currently represented by Sylvie Bérubé.

Rating:

Name: 3.4/10 - Ok. So the names all have relevance, and it is a very large area, but COME ON. 4 names??? I don't even know how to fix it, the cities aren't large enough to define it around that.

Shape: 7.0/10 - I like coastal ridings, seeing how it fits in with the shape of the country as a whole, I just wish it was a cleaner edge with Abitibi—Témiscamingue. 

Individuality: 8.1/10 - I'm impressed by the sheer size and how there is a city in this goliath that is larger than every US state except Alaska. I also am very satisfied with the regional electoral trends. 

Total: 18.5/30 (61.6%)

Speaking of Abitibi—Témiscamingue, we'll be exploring that riding tomorrow, see you then!