# Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou

Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou (formerly known as Abitibi, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik and Nunavik—Eeyou) is a federal riding in the province of Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. Since the 2019 federal election, its Member of Parliament (MP) has been Sylvie Bérubé of the Bloc Québécois (BQ).
The riding of Abitibi was created in 1966 (ahead of the 1968 election), before it was renamed Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik in 1998. It was abolished in 2003 (ahead of the 2004 election); most of its territory was incorporated into Nunavik—Eeyou, which was then renamed Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou in 2004.

## Geography

Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou consists of:
* the Vallée-de-l'Or Regional County Municipality (population 2016: 43,226), including: Lac-Simon Indian Reserve; the Indian Settlement of Grand-Lac Victoria;

### Nord-du-Québec

(population 2016: 44,561)
* the Territory of Eeyou Istchee James Bay, including: the Cree villages and reserved lands of Whapmagoostui, Chisasibi, Eastmain, Mistissini, Nemiscau, Waskaganish, Waswanipi and Wemindji; the Indian Settlement of Oujé-Bougoumou, excepting that part of the Municipality of Baie-James lying southerly of latitude 50°00′ N and westerly of longitude 79°00′ W; and
* the Territory of the Kativik Regional Government, including the Nordic village municipalities of Akulivik, Aupaluk, Inukjuak, Ivujivik, Kangiqsualujjuaq, Kangiqsujuaq, Kangirsuk, Kuujjuaq, Kuujjuarapik, Puvirnituq, Quaqtaq, Salluit, Tasiujaq and Umiujaq; the Naskapi Village Municipality of Kawawachikamach.
The neighbouring ridings are Timmins-James Bay, Nunavut, Labrador, Manicouagan, Jonquière, Lac-Saint-Jean, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, Pontiac and Abitibi—Témiscamingue.
Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou contains more than half of Quebec's total landmass. As such, it is the largest riding in a Canadian province and the third largest in the country after the territorial ridings of Nunavut and Northwest Territories.

## Demographics

    According to the 2021 Canadian census
* Ethnic groups: 57.9% White, 39.6% Indigenous, 1.2% Black
* Languages: 60.4% French, 13.9% Inuktitut, 12.0% Cree, n.o.s., 4.6% English, 3.5% Iyiyiw-Ayimiwin (Northern East Cree)
* Religions: 71.5% Christian (43.7% Catholic, 18.8% Anglican, 3.5% Pentecostal, 5.5% Other), 1.3% Indigenous Spirituality, 26.1% None
* Median income: $43,200 (2020)
* Average income: $53,050 (2020)

## History

The Abitibi riding was created in 1966 from parts of the Chapleau and Saguenay ridings. It was first contested in 1968. In 1976, parts of Villeneuve were incorporated. The electoral district's name was changed in 1998 to Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik.
In the 2003 redistribution, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik was abolished. A new riding, Nunavik—Eeyou, was created with substatilly the same territory as Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik. Parts of the Manicouagan and Roberval ridings were added, while a part was lost to Abitibi—Témiscamingue. Its name was changed to Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou after the 2004 election.
The 2012 electoral redistribution saw the riding gain a small territory from Abitibi—Témiscamingue.

## Riding associations

Riding associations are the local branches of political parties:
| Party | Association name | President | HQ address | HQ city |
| New Democratic | NDP Riding Association of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou | Pascal Porlier | J9P 0A1 | Val-d'Or |
| People's | Association PPC d'Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou | Guillaume Lanouette | J0Y 2H0 | Rivière-Héva |
| Conservative | Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou Conservative Association | Gilles Bernatchez | J9P 3S9 | Val-d'Or |
| Liberal | Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou Federal Liberal Association | Ghyslain Bergeron | J9P 2C2 | Val-d'Or |
| Bloc Québécois | Bloc Québécois d'Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou | Yvon Lévesque | J9P 0C3 | Val-d'Or |

## Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following members of Parliament:
| Parliament | Years | Member | Party |
| Abitibi Riding created from Chapleau, Villeneuve and Saguenay |||||
| 28th | 1968–1971 | Gérard Laprise | Ralliement créditiste |
| 28th | 1971–1972 | Gérard Laprise | Social Credit |
| 29th | 1972–1974 | Gérard Laprise | Social Credit |
| 30th | 1974–1979 | Gérard Laprise | Social Credit |
| 31st | 1979–1980 | Armand Caouette | Social Credit |
| 32nd | 1980–1984 | René Gingras | Liberal |
| 33rd | 1984–1988 | Guy St-Julien | Progressive Conservative |
| 34th | 1988–1993 | Guy St-Julien | Progressive Conservative |
| 35th | 1993–1997 | Bernard Deshaies | Bloc Québécois |
| 36th | 1997–2000 | Guy St-Julien | Liberal |
| Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik |||||
| 37th | 2000–2004 | Guy St-Julien | Liberal |
| Nunavik—Eeyou |||||
| 38th | 2004–2006 | Yvon Lévesque | Bloc Québécois |
| Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou |||||
| 39th | 2006–2008 | Yvon Lévesque | Bloc Québécois |
| 40th | 2008–2011 | Yvon Lévesque | Bloc Québécois |
| 41st | 2011–2015 | Roméo Saganash | New Democratic |
| 42nd | 2015–2019 | Roméo Saganash | New Democratic |
| 43rd | 2019–2021 | Sylvie Bérubé | Bloc Québécois |
| 44th | 2021–present | Sylvie Bérubé | Bloc Québécois |

## Election results
### Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, 2004–present

vte2021 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Bloc Québécois | Sylvie Bérubé | 10,784 | 37.92 | +1.81 | $18,335.60 |
| | Liberal | Lise Kistabish | 7,384 | 25.97 | –2.34 | $33,563.25 |
| | Conservative | Steve Corriveau | 4,508 | 15.85 | –0.70 | $17,415.31 |
| | New Democratic | Pauline Lameboy | 3,323 | 11.69 | –1.27 | $2,453.20 |
| | People's | Michaël Cloutier | 1,072 | 3.77 | +2.57 | $0.00 |
| | Free | Cédric Brazeau | 594 | 2.09 | – | $653.98 |
| | Green | Didier Pilon | 442 | 1.55 | –2.09 | $0.00 |
| | Marijuana | Jimmy Levesque | 329 | 1.16 | –0.06 | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 28,436 | 100.00 | – | $130,889.29 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 856 | 2.92 | +0.37 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,292 | 44.92 | –5.28 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 65,211 |
| | Bloc Québécois hold | Bloc Québécois hold | Swing | Swing | +2.08 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
vte2019 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Bloc Québécois | Sylvie Bérubé | 11,432 | 36.11 | +17.57 | $21,739.42 |
| | Liberal | Isabelle Bergeron | 8,963 | 28.31 | -3.83 | $28,187.31 |
| | Conservative | Martin Ferron | 5,240 | 16.55 | +7.25 | none listed |
| | New Democratic | Jacline Rouleau | 4,104 | 12.96 | -24.06 | $1,679.03 |
| | Green | Kiara Cabana-Whiteley | 1,151 | 3.64 | +1.38 | none listed |
| | Marijuana | Daniel Simon | 387 | 1.22 | – | none listed |
| | People's | Guillaume Lanouette | 379 | 1.20 | – | none listed |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 31,656 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 828 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,484 | 50.2 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 64,651 |
| | Bloc Québécois gain from New Democratic | Bloc Québécois gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | +10.70 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2015 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Roméo Saganash | 12,778 | 37.02 | -7.80 | $33,061.53 |
| | Liberal | Pierre Dufour | 11,094 | 32.14 | +21.67 | $29,180.64 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Luc Ferland | 6,398 | 18.54 | +0.27 | $31,842.28 |
| | Conservative | Steven Hébert | 3,211 | 9.30 | -13.25 | $11,040.28 |
| | Green | Patrick Benoît | 779 | 2.26 | -1.63 | $2,173.92 |
| | Rhinoceros | Mario Gagnon | 258 | 0.75 | – | $3.70 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 34,518 | 100.0 | | $247,914.66 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 609 | – | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,127 | 55.55 | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 63,226 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | -14.73 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2011 federal election redistributed results :
| Party | Vote | % |
| New Democratic | 14,141 | 44.82 |
| Conservative | 7,116 | 22.55 |
| Bloc Québécois | 5,763 | 18.27 |
| Liberal | 3,302 | 10.47 |
| Green | 1,228 | 3.89 |
2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Roméo Saganash | 13,961 | 44.79 | +36.59 | $61,976.57 |
| | Conservative | Jean-Maurice Matte | 7,089 | 22.74 | -7.63 | $75,028.15 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Yvon Lévesque | 5,615 | 18.02 | -21.63 | $61,279.33 |
| | Liberal | Léandre Gervais | 3,282 | 10.53 | -7.89 | $76,159.99 |
| | Green | Johnny Kasudluak | 1,221 | 3.92 | +0.58 | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 31,168 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 480 | 1.51 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,684 | 53.69 |
| | New Democratic Party gain from Bloc Québécois | New Democratic Party gain from Bloc Québécois | Swing | +29.11 | |
Source: Elections Canada Source: The Gazette Popular Cree leader running for NDP Source: Nunatsiaq News Nunavik voters face two ballots in one week
2008 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Bloc Québécois | Yvon Lévesque | 10,995 | 39.65 | -6.91 | $63,715 |
| | Conservative | Jean-Maurice Matte | 8,442 | 30.37 | +9.43 | $76,072 |
| | Liberal | Mark Canada | 5,108 | 18.42 | -3.97 | $16,924 |
| | New Democratic | Erica Martin | 2,276 | 8.20 | +2.15 | |
| | Green | Patrick Rancourt | 928 | 3.34 | -0.69 | |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 27,749 | 100.00 | $96,336 |
| | Bloc Québécois hold | Bloc Québécois hold | Swing | Swing | -8.17 |
2006 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Bloc Québécois | Yvon Lévesque | 13,928 | 46.56 | +1.33 | $67,066 |
| | Liberal | Armand Caouette | 6,700 | 22.40 | −20.77 | $31,110 |
| | Conservative | Gilles Gagnon | 6,261 | 20.93 | +16.39 | $7,272 |
| | New Democratic | Dominique Vaillancourt | 1,810 | 6.05 | +2.11 | |
| | Green | Pierre Denis | 1,210 | 4.04 | +0.95 | $0 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 29,909 | 100.00 | $89,323 |
| | Bloc Québécois hold | Bloc Québécois hold | Swing | Swing | +11.05 |

### Nunavik—Eeyou, 2003–2004

2004 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Bloc Québécois | Yvon Lévesque | 12,578 | 45.23 | +2.5 | $72,518 |
| | Liberal | Guy St-Julien | 12,006 | 43.17 | -6.8 | $52,505 |
| | Conservative | François Dionne | 1,265 | 4.54 | -1.2 | $3,420 |
| | New Democratic | Pierre Corbeil | 1,097 | 3.94 | +2.5 | $ |
| | Green | Martin Fournier | 862 | 3.09 | – | $ |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 27,808 | 100.00 | $87,366 |
Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.

### Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik, 2000–2004

2000 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Guy St-Julien | 18,198 | 50.0 | +6.2 |
| | Bloc Québécois | François Lemieux | 15,567 | 42.8 | +5.9 |
| | Alliance | François Dionne | 1,297 | 3.6 | |
| | Progressive Conservative | Sylvain Gemme | 809 | 2.2 | -14.8 |
| | New Democratic | Daniel Fredrick | 534 | 1.5 | -0.9 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 36,405 | 100.0 |

### Abitibi, 1968–2000

1997 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Guy St-Julien | 16,803 | 43.7 | +27.5 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Jeannot Couture | 14,168 | 36.9 | -9.0 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Armand Caouette | 6,531 | 17.0 | -18.6 |
| | New Democratic | Claudette Paquin | 909 | 2.4 | +0.1 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 38,411 | 100.0 |
1993 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Bloc Québécois | Bernard Deshaies | 18,876 | 45.9 | |
| | Progressive Conservative | Guy St-Julien | 14,651 | 35.6 | -21.9 |
| | Liberal | Lucie Blais | 6,666 | 16.2 | 0.0 |
| | New Democratic | Louise Cloutier | 951 | 2.3 | -24.0 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 41,144 | 100.0 |
1988 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Guy St-Julien | 22,254 | 57.6 | +5.6 |
| | New Democratic | Gerry Lemoyne | 10,161 | 26.3 | -1.7 |
| | Liberal | Normand Michaud | 6,251 | 16.2 | +8.2 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 38,666 | 100.0 |
1984 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Guy St-Julien | 23,230 | 52.0 | +47.4 |
| | Liberal | René Gingras | 12,525 | 28.0 | -23.0 |
| | New Democratic | Royal Tremblay | 3,583 | 8.0 | +2.1 |
| | Rhinoceros | Robert Hamelin | 2,264 | 5.1 | |
| | Parti nationaliste | Georges Caron | 1,925 | 4.3 | |
| | Social Credit | Alphonse Leduc | 1,179 | 2.6 | -31.8 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 44,706 | 100.0 |
1980 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | René Gingras | 22,050 | 51.1 | +17.8 |
| | Social Credit | Armand Caouette | 14,881 | 34.5 | -10.9 |
| | New Democratic | Royal Tremblay | 2,553 | 5.9 | +2.9 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Marius Gauthier | 1,982 | 4.6 | -7.4 |
| | Independent | Myriam Bouchard | 1,00 | 2.3 | |
| | Union populaire | Martine Dion | 416 | 1.0 | +0.2 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Fernand Deschamps | 300 | 0.7 | +0.2 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 43,190 | 100.0 |
1979 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Armand Caouette | 21,387 | 45.4 | -11.2 |
| | Liberal | Ronald Tétrault | 15,697 | 33.3 | +1.2 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jean-Jacques Martel | 5,652 | 12.0 | +6.5 |
| | Rhinoceros | Doris St-Pierre | 1,425 | 3.0 | |
| | New Democratic | Maurice Vaney | 1,420 | 3.0 | -1.7 |
| | Independent | Zebedee Nungak | 986 | 2.1 | |
| | Union populaire | Judith Desjardins | 344 | 0.7 | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Jean Létourneau | 233 | 0.5 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 47,144 | 100.0 |
1974 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Gérard Laprise | 12,423 | 56.5 | 0.9 |
| | Liberal | Marcel Gagnon | 7,046 | 32.1 | -4.5 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Robert Johnson | 1,199 | 5.5 | -2.3 |
| | New Democratic | Léon Guenette | 1,031 | 4.7 | |
| | Independent | Yves Limoges | 282 | 1.3 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 21,981 | 100.0 |
1972 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Gérard Laprise | 12,482 | 55.7 | +0.7 |
| | Liberal | Marcel Bergeron | 8,203 | 36.6 | +3.2 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Paul-Emile Gelinas | 1,739 | 7.8 | -1.3 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 22,424 | 100.0 |
Note: Social Credit vote is compared to Ralliement créditiste vote in the 1968 election.
1968 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Ralliement créditiste | Gérard Laprise | 10,884 | 55.0 |
| | Liberal | André Lavigne | 6,606 | 33.4 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Marc Parent | 1,796 | 9.1 |
| | New Democratic | J.-Gérald Leonard | 515 | 2.6 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 19,801 | 100.0 |