# Saint-Jean (provincial electoral district)

Saint-Jean (French pronunciation: ) is a provincial electoral district in the Montérégie region of the province of Quebec. It comprises most of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and all of Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu.
It was created for the 1867 election (and an electoral district of that name existed earlier in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada). It disappeared in the 1939 election and its successor electoral district was Saint-Jean–Napierville; however, it was re-created for the 1944 election.
In the change from the 2001 to the 2011 electoral map, its territory was unchanged.
In the 1994 election (on September 12) there was a tie between incumbent Liberal candidate Michel Charbonneau and PQ candidate Roger Paquin. A new election was held on October 24 and was won by Paquin by a margin of 532 votes.

## Bellwether district

The Saint-Jean district had been for a long time considered a reliable bellwether district. From 1897 to 1936, from 1944 to 2007, in 2012 and 2018, the Saint-Jean district elected a member of the governing party.
In 1994, the Saint-Jean district received high media coverage following the September 12 general election. As a consequence of a tie in the number of votes between Michel Charbonneau (PLQ) and Roger Paquin (PQ), no candidate is declared a winner. This unique situation in the history of Quebec politics necessitates a new district election that took place on October 24, 1994. The victory of the PQ candidate strengthens the perception that Saint-Jean is a bellwether district, for two reasons: the initial tie in the votes reflects, according to some commentators, the weak majority by the PQ over the liberals that were obtained provincially in the general election. Secondly, the victory of Paquin confirms that, once again, voters in Saint-Jean tend to vote for the party forming the government.
Even though Saint-Jean voters, since 2007, have selected some candidates forming the opposition party, the media sometimes still refer to it as a bellwether district.
Other provincial districts that are sometimes considered as bellwether include Terrebonne (Lanaudière), Trois-Rivières (Mauricie), and Chauveau (Capitale-Nationale).
The federal electoral district of Saint-Jean, which includes parts of the provincial Saint-Jean and Iberville districts, is also sometimes cited as a bellwether.

## Members of the Legislative Assembly / National Assembly

| Legislature | Years | Member | Party |
| 1st | 1867–1871 | Felix-Gabriel Marchand | Liberal |
| 2nd | 1871–1875 | Felix-Gabriel Marchand | Liberal |
| 3rd | 1875–1878 | Felix-Gabriel Marchand | Liberal |
| 4th | 1878–1881 | Felix-Gabriel Marchand | Liberal |
| 5th | 1881–1886 | Felix-Gabriel Marchand | Liberal |
| 6th | 1886–1890 | Felix-Gabriel Marchand | Liberal |
| 7th | 1890–1892 | Felix-Gabriel Marchand | Liberal |
| 8th | 1892–1897 | Felix-Gabriel Marchand | Liberal |
| 9th | 1897–1900 | Felix-Gabriel Marchand | Liberal |
| 10th | 1900–1904 | Philippe-Honoré Roy | Liberal |
| 11th | 1904–1908 | Philippe-Honoré Roy | Liberal |
| 12th | 1908–1910 | Gabriel Marchand | Liberal |
| 12th | 1910–1912 | Marcellin Robert | Liberal |
| 13th | 1912–1912 | Jean Lomer Gouin | Liberal |
| 13th | 1913–1916 | Marcellin Robert | Liberal |
| 14th | 1916–1919 | Marcellin Robert | Liberal |
| 15th | 1919–1923 | Alexis Bouthillier | Liberal |
| 16th | 1923–1927 | Alexis Bouthillier | Liberal |
| 17th | 1927–1931 | Alexis Bouthillier | Liberal |
| 18th | 1931–1935 | Alexis Bouthillier | Liberal |
| 19th | 1935–1936 | Alexis Bouthillier | Liberal |
| 20th | 1936–1939 | Alexis Bouthillier | Liberal |
| Riding dissolved into Saint-Jean–Napierville |||||
| Riding re-created from Saint-Jean–Napierville |||||
| 22nd | 1944–1948 | Jean-Paul Beaulieu | Union Nationale |
| 23rd | 1948–1952 | Jean-Paul Beaulieu | Union Nationale |
| 24th | 1952–1956 | Jean-Paul Beaulieu | Union Nationale |
| 25th | 1956–1960 | Jean-Paul Beaulieu | Union Nationale |
| 26th | 1960–1962 | Philodor Ouimet | Liberal |
| 27th | 1962–1966 | Philodor Ouimet | Liberal |
| 28th | 1966–1969 | Jérôme Proulx | Union Nationale |
| 28th | 1969–1969 | Jérôme Proulx | Independent |
| 28th | 1969–1970 | Jérôme Proulx | Parti Québécois |
| 29th | 1970–1973 | Jacques Veilleux | Liberal |
| 30th | 1973–1976 | Jacques Veilleux | Liberal |
| 31st | 1976–1981 | Jérôme Proulx | Parti Québécois |
| 32nd | 1981–1985 | Jérôme Proulx | Parti Québécois |
| 33rd | 1985–1989 | Pierre Lorrain | Liberal |
| 34th | 1989–1994 | Michel Charbonneau | Liberal |
| 35th | 1994–1998 | Roger Paquin | Parti Québécois |
| 36th | 1998–2003 | Roger Paquin | Parti Québécois |
| 37th | 2003–2007 | Jean-Pierre Paquin | Liberal |
| 38th | 2007–2008 | Lucille Méthé | Action démocratique |
| 39th | 2008–2012 | Dave Turcotte | Parti Québécois |
| 40th | 2012–2014 | Dave Turcotte | Parti Québécois |
| 41st | 2014–2018 | Dave Turcotte | Parti Québécois |
| 42nd | 2018–2022 | Louis Lemieux | Coalition Avenir Québec |
| 43rd | 2022–Present | Louis Lemieux | Coalition Avenir Québec |

## Election results

vte2022 Quebec general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ±% |
| | Coalition Avenir Québec | Louis Lemieux | | |
| | Parti Québécois | Alexandre Girard-Duchaine | | |
| | Québec solidaire | Pierre-Luc Lavertu | | |
| | Conservative | Dominick Melnitzky | | |
| | Liberal | Benjamin Roy | | |
| | Climat Québec | Denis Thériault | | – |
| | Démocratie directe | Raymond Choquette | | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | – |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | – | – |
vte2018 Quebec general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Coalition Avenir Québec | Louis Lemieux | 16,789 | 39.50 | +8.42 |
| | Parti Québécois | Dave Turcotte | 13,171 | 30.99 | -1.45 |
| | Québec solidaire | Simon Lalonde | 6,137 | 14.44 | +7.94 |
| | Liberal | Vanessa Parent | 4,946 | 11.64 | -16.85 |
| | Green | Véronique Langlois | 694 | 1.63 | – |
| | Conservative | Philippe Perreault | 368 | 0.87 | +0.29 |
| | Citoyens au pouvoir | Louis St-Jacques | 240 | 0.56 | – |
| | New Democratic | Geneviève Ruel | 159 | 0.37 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 42,504 | 98.13 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 809 | 1.87 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,313 | 71.28 | -0.39 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 60,761 |
| | Coalition Avenir Québec gain from Parti Québécois | Coalition Avenir Québec gain from Parti Québécois | Swing | Swing | +4.94 |
| Source(s) "Rapport des résultats officiels du scrutin". Élections Québec. |||||||
2014 Quebec general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Parti Québécois | Dave Turcotte | 13,486 | 32.44 | -8.29 |
| | Coalition Avenir Québec | Serge Tremblay | 12,923 | 31.08 | -1.09 |
| | Liberal | Marie-Josée Denis | 11,845 | 28.49 | +8.56 |
| | Québec solidaire | Carole Lusignan | 2,693 | 6.48 | +2.28 |
| | Option nationale | Jade Bossé Bélanger | 386 | 0.93 | -0.78 |
| | Conservative | Maryse Grenier | 243 | 0.58 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 41,576 | 97.83 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 921 | 2.17 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,497 | 71.67 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 59,296 |
| | Parti Québécois hold | Parti Québécois hold | Swing | Swing | -4.69 |
Reference for 2014 results:
2012 Quebec general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Parti Québécois | Dave Turcotte | 18,304 | 40.73 | +1.58 |
| | Coalition Avenir Québec | Yvan Berthelot | 14,457 | 32.17 | +13.96 |
| | Liberal | Martin Massé | 8,955 | 19.93 | -16.59 |
| | Québec solidaire | Carole Lusignan | 1,886 | 4.20 | +1.97 |
| | Option nationale | Félix Lemaire | 770 | 1.71 | |
| | Conservative | Carmyn Girard | 267 | 0.59 | |
| | Parti indépendantiste | Yvon Silva Aubé | 190 | 0.42 | -0.13 |
| | Quebec Citizens' Union | François Mailly | 109 | 0.24 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 44,938 | 98.43 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 718 | 1.57 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,656 | 78.34 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 58,282 |
| | Parti Québécois hold | Parti Québécois hold | Swing | Swing | -6.19 |
^ Change CAQ change is from ADQ Reference for 2012 results:
2008 Quebec general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Parti Québécois | Dave Turcotte | 13,474 | 39.15 | +9.88 |
| Liberal | Jean-Pierre Paquin | 12,568 | 36.52 | +11.64 |
| Action démocratique | Lucille Méthé | 6,266 | 18.21 | -24.01 |
| Green | Eric Beaudry | 1,034 | 3.00 | – |
| Québec solidaire | Danielle Desmarais | 768 | 2.23 | -1.30 |
| Parti indépendantiste | Martin Rioux | 189 | 0.55 | – |
| Independent | Guillaume Tremblay | 118 | 0.34 | -3.29 |
2007 Quebec general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Action démocratique | Lucille Méthé | 17,189 | 42.22 | +23.29 |
| Parti Québécois | Dave Turcotte | 11,916 | 29.27 | -7.79 |
| Liberal | Jean-Pierre Paquin | 10,131 | 24.88 | -15.87 |
| Québec solidaire | Guillaume Tremblay | 1,478 | 3.63 | +2.15 |
vteQuebec provincial by-election, October 24, 1994 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Parti Québécois | Roger Paquin | 15,680 | 43.80 | +1.30 |
| | Liberal | Michel Charbonneau | 15,148 | 42.30 | -0.20 |
| | Action démocratique | Daniel Lefebvre | 4,693 | 11.96 | +1.14 |
| | New Democratic | Julien Patenaude | 204 | 0.60 | -1.00 |
| | Sovereignty | Réal Brunette | 232 | 0.20 | -0.40 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 35,807 | 98.66 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 487 | 1.34 | -1.61 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,294 | 76.53 | -5.48 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 47,426 |
| | Parti Québécois gain from Liberal | Parti Québécois gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | +0.75 |
vte1994 Quebec general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Michel Charbonneau | 16,536 | 42.50 | -11.10 |
| | Parti Québécois | Roger Paquin | 16,536 | 42.50 | +3.20 |
| | Action démocratique | Daniel Lefebvre | 4,494 | 11.96 | – |
| | New Democratic | Julien Patenaude | 638 | 1.60 | -3.40 |
| | Natural Law | Anne Bélanger | 313 | 0.80 | – |
| | Sovereignty | Réal Brunette | 232 | 0.60 | – |
| | Equality | Richard Beaucage | 145 | 0.40 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 38,894 | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,894 | 82.01 | +3.85 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 47,426 |
| The result was declared void as a result of the tie and a subsequent by-election was held on October 24, 1994 |||||||