Beloeil—Chambly

Beloeil—Chambly lies in Quebec's Montérégie region, encompassing a cluster of suburban municipalities on Montreal's South Shore along the Richelieu River. The riding includes the cities of Beloeil, Chambly, and Mont-Saint-Hilaire, as well as the town of Otterburn Park and the municipalities of McMasterville and Saint-Jean-Baptiste. It falls within the regional county municipality of La Vallée-du-Richelieu. The dominant geographic feature is the Richelieu River itself, which flows northward through the heart of the riding, and Mont Saint-Hilaire—a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve and one of the Monteregian Hills—rises prominently on the eastern bank. Located approximately thirty kilometres east of Montreal, the riding is largely residential and suburban in character.

Candidates

Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc Québécois) — Born in Drummondville in 1965, Blanchet is the leader of the Bloc Québécois, elected to that position unopposed in January 2019. Before entering federal politics, he ran an artist management firm and served as president of ADISQ, Quebec's music industry association, from 2003 to 2006. He was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly from 2008 to 2014 and served as Quebec's Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, Wildlife and Parks under Premier Pauline Marois. Under his federal leadership, the Bloc surged from 10 seats in 2015 to 32 seats in 2019.

Marie-Chantal Hamel (Liberal) — A businesswoman and resident of Beloeil, Hamel holds a law degree from the Université de Montréal and worked as a manager at research organizations including CRIR and PUR between 2009 and 2018. She also ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding in 2019.

Stéphane Robichaud (Conservative) — A professional accountant who formerly lived in Chambly, Robichaud had previously been involved with the Action démocratique du Québec and the Coalition Avenir Québec at the provincial level. He ran as the Conservative candidate in Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne in 2019 before contesting Beloeil—Chambly in 2021.

Marie-Josée Béliveau (NDP) — An ethnogeographer and teacher at Cégep Ahuntsic in Montreal, Béliveau is originally from Chambly and was pursuing doctoral studies in anthropology. Her campaign focused on environmental issues, particularly the preservation of the Richelieu River and reducing wastewater discharges into local waterways.

About the Riding

Beloeil—Chambly was created through the 2012 federal redistribution, carved primarily from the former riding of Chambly—Borduas, and came into effect for the 2015 election. The constituency is defined by its position as a commuter suburb of Montreal—well-connected by highway and commuter rail—with a population drawn largely to the area by its mix of suburban convenience and the natural beauty of the Richelieu valley.

Mont Saint-Hilaire, a Monteregian inselberg rising to 414 metres, dominates the landscape east of Beloeil. The Gault Nature Reserve on the mountain is managed by McGill University and protects one of the last remnants of primeval forest in the Saint Lawrence Lowlands. The Richelieu River, which connects Lake Champlain to the Saint Lawrence, has been a historic corridor of commerce and conflict—the region's name references the Patriotes, who fought in the 1837–1838 Rebellions in communities along its banks.

The riding carried additional national significance in 2021 as the home constituency of the Bloc Québécois leader. Blanchet's strong personal profile and the party's consistent strength in the Montérégie suburbs made the riding one of the Bloc's safest seats. The suburban electorate—middle-class, francophone, and inclined toward Quebec nationalist politics—has supported the Bloc in every election since the riding's creation.