Jonquière (Quebec) 133/338

 Jonquière (Quebec)

Today we're in Jonquière!

Jonquière was first created in 1979 and was recreated in 2015 after not existing from 2004-2015. The population was 89,818 in 2016. The population centers are Saguenay (Jonquière and Chicoutimi boroughs), Saint-Honoré (5,757 in 2016), and Saint-Ambroise (3,781 in 2016). Similar to Gatineau, the city of Jonquière was amalgamated with the cities of La Baie, Chicoutimi and Laterrière in 2002.

Politically, this seat tends to swing every couple of years. From 1993-2006, it was held by the Bloc, until the Conservatives won it in 2006. The Conservatives held it until 2011 when the NDP won the seat by over 4,000 votes. The NDP held it narrowly in 2015, but lost it to the Bloc in 2019. The seat is currently held by Bloc MP Mario Simard.

In 2015, four seats in this region shared two characteristics: the seat was won with a plurality of less than 34%, and the four parties that won seats in Quebec had more than 16%. As of 2021, three of the four seats are held by the Bloc, who didn't place above third in 2015, and three of the four were won with more than 40%. In 2019, this seat was 27/78 in Quebec and 107/338 in Canada by margin.

The name is good, Jonquière must be over 50% of the population of the riding, although I do wish Saguenay was named federally. The shape is good too, although embedded districts are not uncommon in Canada, I'm glad they didn't embed the Chicoutimi riding by putting Le-Fjord-du-Saguenay in one riding. As for individuality, the swings are not uncommon, but it is surprising how the Liberals didn't win the seat in 2015.

Tomorrow we're back in BC with Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo!