Hull - Aylmer

This riding is located across the Ottawa River from Ottawa and is part of the National Capital Region. The riding contains that part of the city of Gatineau comprised of the former cities of Hull and Aylmer. The riding is bordered by Terry Fox Road to the west, the Gatineau Hills to the north, the Ottawa River to the south and the Gatineau River in the east.

The federal government is the largest employer, followed by the service sector and health and social services. The average family income is $83,062 and unemployment is 5.9 per cent.

According to the 2006 census, over 15 per cent of the riding's residents listed English as their mother tongue and over 11 per cent listed neither French nor English. Thirty per cent of the population over age 25 has a university certificate or degree. In the 1995 referendum, 75 per cent in this riding opposed sovereignty for Quebec.

In 2004, most of the riding remained unchanged, but a small area was added from Pontiac-Gatineau-Labelle. The riding was established as Hull in 1914 and changed to Hull-Aylmer in 1984. There was no change in the 1996 redistribution.

Population: 110,902 (2006 census; an increase of 8.4% since 2001)

Political History

The 2006 election marked 89 years of Liberal dominance in the riding. In a repeat of the 2004 race, Liberal Marcel Proulx defeated Bloc Québécois candidate Alain Charette. Proulx was first elected in a 1999 byelection.

The riding has voted Liberal since 1917. Gaston Isabelle was a long-serving MP here from 1968, serving six terms. In 1988, Liberal Gilles Rocheleau was elected, but he quit the Liberal party on July 3, 1990, right after Jean Chrétien became leader, and joined the BQ. In 1993, Chrétien appointed Marcel Massé to be the 1993 Liberal candidate. Massé defeated now-BQ Rocheleau in the 1993 election. He was appointed president of the Privy Council, minister of intergovernmental affairs and minister responsible for public service renewal in 1993. He served as president of the Treasury Board and minister responsible for infrastructure from 1996 to 1999 and minister responsible for public service renewal from 1997 to 1999. Massé resigned in 1999 and was appointed Canadian executive director for the Inter-American Development Board in Washington.

• Since 1917 - LIB