Hochelaga (Quebec) 127/338

 Hochelaga (Quebec)

Today we're back with Hochelaga!

Hochelaga has existed as a riding from 1867-1988, and then was recreated in 2004 from Hochelaga—Maisonneuve and Laurier—Sainte-Marie. The population of the riding was 106,496 in 2016. The riding contains the boroughs of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, part of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, and part of Ville-Marie. Hochelaga was named for the Iroquois village on what is now the Island of Montreal.

Politically, this seat has been closer in recent years. From the Bloc's inception it had held the seat up to 2011 when the NDP swept the region, but the Bloc remained competitive. The seat became a three way race in 2015 when the NDP, Liberals, and Bloc were separated by just over 1,645 votes. It went to the Liberals in 2019 when the NDP collapsed in Quebec, with the Bloc just 328 votes apart. The seat is currently held by Liberal MP Soraya Martinez Ferrada.

With the Quebec provincial election happening in just under 10 months, our attention can be turned to the four provincial ridings here. This part of the Island is the more sovereigntist, with the PQ finishing second in three of the four ridings, and Quebec Solidaire winning two of the ridings. The CAQ won Bourget with just 27.57% of the vote, and the Quebec Liberals won Anjou-Louis-Riel with 39.06% of the vote, more than 10 points down from 2014. In 2019, this seat was 2/78 in Quebec and 4/338 in Canada by margin.

In the past I ranked the ridings, but now I will just be using this paragraph to talk about my feelings about the riding. I appreciate the borough being named after an indigenous village and the riding being named as such. The shape is a little interesting, as far as I can tell it isn't a municipal boundary. I also love ridings that swing as much as this one, there is a clear base for the three parties that have held it recently.

Tomorrow we'll be in the neighbouring riding of Honoré-Mercier!