# Claude DeBellefeuille

Claude DeBellefeuille MP (born December 13, 1963) is a Canadian politician serving as the member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Salaberry—Suroît in Quebec since the 2019 federal election. A member of the Bloc Québécois (BQ), she previously served as the MP for Beauharnois—Salaberry from 2006 to 2011.

## Background

Born in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, DeBellefeuille was a social worker before becoming a politician. She was first elected in the 2006 federal election in the riding of Beauharnois—Salaberry. She defeated Alain Boire in the nomination race in the riding and went on to win the general election. DeBellefeuille was reelected in 2008 with a slightly higher margin than the previous election. Between June 2010 and May 2011, she replaced Michel Guimond as the chief Bloc Québécois Whip, previously serving as Deputy Whip. In the 2011 federal election, DeBellefeuille was a casualty of the Orange Wave, losing her seat to Anne Minh-Thu Quach of the New Democratic Party (NDP). In 2015, she ran in Salaberry—Suroît and again lost to Quach. After Quach did not run in the 2019 federal election, DeBellefeuille succeeded her.
On June 17, 2020 DeBellefeuille spoke as party whip following New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh calling fellow Bloc Québécois MP Alain Therrien a ‘racist’ after he (Therrien) voted against a motion to address systemic racism and discrimination in the RCMP. On June 18, 2020 DeBellefeuille called for Singh to be blocked from speaking in Parliament due to the previous day’s ‘outburst’ but was unsuccessful.
Since 2021 she has served as the Chief Whip in the Bloc Québécois Shadow Cabinet.

## Electoral record

vte2021 Canadian federal election: Salaberry—Suroît :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Bloc Québécois | Claude DeBellefeuille | 29,093 | 47.8 | +0.1 | $30,713.12 |
| | Liberal | Linda Gallant | 16,550 | 27.2 | -2.5 | $111,539.16 |
| | Conservative | Jean Collette | 7,476 | 12.3 | +2.6 | $5,965.78 |
| | New Democratic | Joan Gottman | 4,529 | 7.4 | -0.6 | $959.67 |
| | People's | Nicolas Thivierge | 2,207 | 3.6 | +2.4 | $1,708.37 |
| | Free | Marcel Goyette | 561 | 0.9 | N/A | $633.40 |
| | Indépendance du Québec | Luc Bertrand | 449 | 0.7 | +0.2 | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 60,865 | 97.8 | – | $126,226.54 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 1,355 | 2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 62,220 | 62.7 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 99,287 |
| | Bloc Québécois hold | Bloc Québécois hold | Swing | Swing | +1.3 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
vte2019 Canadian federal election: Salaberry—Suroît :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Bloc Québécois | Claude DeBellefeuille | 29,975 | 47.7 | +19.34 | $22,969.94 |
| | Liberal | Marc Faubert | 18,682 | 29.7 | +0.52 | $65,428.26 |
| | Conservative | Cynthia Larivière | 6,116 | 9.7 | -0.27 | $8,759.40 |
| | New Democratic | Joan Gottman | 5,024 | 8.0 | -22.43 | none listed |
| | Green | Nahed AlShawa | 1,997 | 3.2 | +1.79 | none listed |
| | People's | Alain Savard | 767 | 1.2 | | $3,205.00 |
| | Indépendance du Québec | Luc Bertrand | 342 | 0.5 | | none listed |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 62,903 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 1,285 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 64,188 | 67.0 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 95,776 |
| | Bloc Québécois gain from New Democratic | Bloc Québécois gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | +9.41 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Anne Minh-Thu Quach | 23,978 | 43.78 | +32.22 | – |
| | Bloc Québécois | Claude DeBellefeuille | 18,182 | 33.20 | -16.86 | – |
| | Conservative | David Couturier | 7,049 | 12.87 | -7.37 | – |
| | Liberal | François Deslandres | 4,559 | 8.32 | -6.55 | – |
| | Green | Rémi Pelletier | 1,003 | 1.83 | -1.45 | – |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 54,771 | 100.00 | – |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 778 | 1.40 | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,569 | 62.34 | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 89,141 | – | – |
| | New Democratic gain from Bloc Québécois | New Democratic gain from Bloc Québécois | Swing | Swing | +24.54 |
2008 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Bloc Québécois | Claude DeBellefeuille | 26,904 | 50.06 | +2.53 | $57,397 |
| | Conservative | Dominique Bellemare | 10,858 | 20.20 | -6.31 | $85,410 |
| | Liberal | Maria Lopez | 7,995 | 14.87 | -0.14 | $6,993 |
| | New Democratic | Anne Minh-Thu Quach | 6,214 | 11.56 | +4.01 | $2,272 |
| | Green | David Smith | 1,764 | 3.28 | -0.10 | $5,184 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 53,735 | 100.00 | $89,601 |
| | Bloc Québécois hold | Bloc Québécois hold | Swing | Swing | -4.52 |
2006 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Bloc Québécois | Claude DeBellefeuille | 26,190 | 47.53 | -3.1 | $51,521 |
| | Conservative | David Couturier | 14,609 | 26.51 | +17.3 | $7,923 |
| | Liberal | John Khawand | 8,272 | 15.01 | -19.6 | $80,914 |
| | New Democratic | Cynthia Roy | 4,163 | 7.55 | +5.6 | $6,039 |
| | Green | David Smith | 1,864 | 3.38 | +0.7 | |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 55,098 | 100.00 | $82,960 |