Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel (Quebec) 24/338

Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel (Quebec)

Today we're in Quebec with Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel!

Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel has existed as a riding since 1968 under the name Richelieu. The largest municipalities are Sorel-Tracy (34,755 in 2016), Becancour (12,438 in 2011), and Nicolet (7,828 in 2011). The riding also includes the lands of the Abenaki peoples, namely Odanak and Wôlinak. The riding runs along the St. Lawrence River and Lac Saint-Pierre.

Politically, this riding has been held by the Bloc Quebecois for the past 30 years (barring a few months). The only time the riding was close was in 2011 when the margin was less than 1500 votes between the Bloc and the NDP, which is a testament to how many seats flipped from the NDP to the Bloc (45!). The riding is currently represented by Bloc Quebecois MP Louis Plamondon.

Speaking of Louis Plamondon, he is the Dean of the House, having been first elected in 1984 as a Progressive Conservative, becoming Independent in 1990, crossing to become a Bloc Quebecois MP the same year, leaving the Bloc Caucus in 2018 to form the Groupe parlementaire québécois in protest of the Bloc's leader at the time, Martine Ouellet, and returning to the Bloc caucus in 2018. In 2019, the riding was 72/78 in Quebec and 289/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 4.2/10 - It's fine, just too many names. Maybe something in reference to Lac Saint-Pierre since quite a few people live near it.

Shape: 5.3/10 - It's not awful, the only major issue is the South, just very jagged.

Individuality: 7.9/10 - It's crazy how this is one of the most consistently Bloc Quebecois seats, and the Dean of the House being from here is pretty cool.

Total: 17.4/30 (58%)

See you tomorrow in Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis!