Berthier - Maskinongé

This rural riding located north of Montreal has the St. Lawrence River as its southern boundary and the St. Maurice River as part of the eastern boundary. Trois-Rivières is in the southeast corner. The riding contains the regional county municipalities of D'Autray and Maskinongé, the former Pointe-du-Lac and the former city of Trois-Rivières-Ouest.

Manufacturing and the service sector are two of the main employers, followed by retail trade. The average family income is $62,099 and unemployment is 6.7 per cent.

Over 97 per cent of residents speak French as their first language, while less than one per cent speak English as theirs. The total immigrant population in the 2006 census was 1.6 per cent.

The riding of Berthier-Maskinongé was created in the 2004 redistribution from 49 per cent of Trois-Rivières riding, 30 per cent of Berthier-Montcalm and 26 per cent of St-Maurice.

Population: 107,911 (2006 census; an increase of 4.2% since 2001)

Political History

Incumbent Guy André and the Bloc Québécois triumphed again in 2006, although in a less dominating victory than 2004, when the newly created riding went to the Bloc by more than 18,000 votes. In 2000, in Trois-Rivières, Bloc candidate Yves Rocheleau was elected, defeating Liberal Denis Normandin. It was his third term as MP. In a 2002 byelection, in Berthier-Montcalm, Bloc Québécois candidate Roger Gaudet was elected, defeating Liberal Richard Giroux. St-Maurice is former prime minister Jean Chrétien's old riding.

• 2004, 2006 - BQ