Rivière-du-Nord

Rivière-du-Nord is a federal riding in the lower Laurentians, centred on the city of Saint-Jérôme—the regional capital of the Laurentides and a suburban city of approximately 80,000 residents located about 45 kilometres northwest of Montreal. The riding corresponds largely to the Regional County Municipality of La Rivière-du-Nord and includes the communities of Sainte-Sophie, Prévost, and Saint-Hippolyte. Named for the Rivière du Nord, which cuts through the Laurentian landscape on its way to the Rivière des Mille Îles, the riding marks the transition zone between the Montreal commuter belt and the recreational cottage country of the Laurentians. The population has grown rapidly in recent decades, driven by families and retirees seeking lower housing costs within reach of the Montreal job market.

Candidates

Rhéal Fortin (Bloc Québécois) — Born in Laval-des-Rapides, Fortin started working at age 18, earning a CEGEP diploma as an electrician and working in a Laval factory from 1977 to 1985 before returning to school to study law at the Université de Sherbrooke. After graduating, he established a legal practice in Saint-Jérôme in 1992 and became president of the law firm Bissonnette Fortin Giroux. First elected in 2015, he served as interim leader of the Bloc Québécois from October 2015 to March 2017 following the resignation of Gilles Duceppe. He was re-elected in 2019 and again in 2021, serving as the Bloc's justice critic.

About the Riding

Saint-Jérôme has historically served as the gateway to the Laurentians—the starting point of the legendary Route des Laurentides and, before that, the terminus of the Montreal and Occidental Railway that opened the northern frontier to colonization in the nineteenth century. The cure Antoine Labelle, a celebrated colonizing priest, made Saint-Jérôme his base for efforts to settle French Canadians in the Laurentian hinterland. Today, the city is the administrative, commercial, and health care hub for the lower Laurentians region, home to a regional hospital, a CEGEP, and a courthouse.

The riding's rapid population growth has strained local infrastructure. Road congestion on autoroute 15—the main corridor between the Laurentians and Montreal—is a daily frustration for commuters. Health care access, particularly emergency room wait times at the regional hospital, is a persistent concern. The riding also grapples with socioeconomic challenges: Saint-Jérôme has higher poverty and unemployment rates than the Laurentian average, alongside significant demand for social housing and addiction services.

Politically, the riding has been a Bloc Québécois stronghold, a reflection of the strong sovereignist and nationalist sentiment in the francophone working-class and middle-class communities of the lower Laurentians. Fortin's personal profile—a locally established lawyer with deep community roots and the credibility of having served as interim party leader—has reinforced the Bloc's dominance. Local debates centre on public transit expansion, affordable housing, health care staffing, and the economic development of the Laurentian corridor beyond its traditional reliance on seasonal tourism.