Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke

Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke is a vast eastern Ontario riding that encompasses all of Renfrew County and a section of Nipissing District around Algonquin Provincial Park, stretching more than 12,000 square kilometres along the Ottawa River and the Quebec border north of Ottawa. The City of Pembroke is the only city in the riding; towns include Arnprior, Petawawa, Renfrew, Deep River, and Cobden. The eastern portion of Algonquin Park, Canadian Forces Base Petawawa—one of the largest military installations in Canada—and the former Atomic Energy of Canada facility at Chalk River all fall within the riding's boundaries.

The 2021 census recorded a population of approximately 128,350. The riding is predominantly English-speaking, with a notable francophone minority in several communities along the Ottawa River. The demographic profile is older than the provincial average, and the population is less ethnically diverse than urban Ontario ridings.

Candidates

Cheryl Gallant (Conservative) — Born in Sarnia, Ontario, Gallant holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Western Ontario. Before entering politics, she worked as a group insurance executive for a major Canadian life insurance company and served as chair of the City of Pembroke Downtown Development Commission. First elected in 2000—defeating Liberal incumbent Hec Clouthier—she became the first woman elected to federal office in Renfrew County. She was seeking her seventh consecutive term.

Jodie Primeau (NDP) — Primeau is a lawyer, mother, and amateur triathlete based in Deep River, Ontario. After practising law in the Kingston area, she returned to her hometown and in 2019 founded Primeau Law Professional Corporation—the area's first female-run law firm. Her campaign focused on transportation, support for families, and affordable housing in rural communities.

Cyndi Mills (Liberal) — A Petawawa resident and military spouse, Mills is a small business owner who produces a lifestyle magazine for military families. She serves as vice-president of the Upper Ottawa Valley Chambers of Commerce, communications director for the Petawawa Minor Soccer Club, and president of Wreaths Across Canada.

David Ainsworth (PPC) — Ainsworth was the People's Party of Canada candidate in Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke for the 2021 federal election.

About the Riding

The military presence at CFB Petawawa shapes the riding's economy, culture, and politics more than any other single factor. The base is home to 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group and the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, and the surrounding community of Petawawa has grown steadily as military families settle in the area. Support for veterans, military housing, and defence spending are perennial concerns. The former Chalk River Laboratories—birthplace of the CANDU reactor—and the town of Deep River, built in the 1940s to house nuclear scientists, give the riding a distinctive connection to Canada's nuclear history.

Pembroke serves as the largest regional service centre between Ottawa and North Bay, and the town's location on the Trans-Canada Highway makes it a gateway to Algonquin Park and the white-water rafting destinations on the Ottawa and Petawawa rivers. Tourism, forestry, and agriculture—particularly cattle and hay operations in the Ottawa Valley—are important economic pillars. The Bonnechere Caves, Algonquin Park's eastern access points, and the Ottawa River corridor draw visitors year-round.

Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke has been one of the most reliably Conservative ridings in Ontario for over two decades. Healthcare access in rural communities, broadband and cellular connectivity across the riding's vast geography, and the maintenance of rural roads and bridges are persistent local concerns. The riding's proximity to Ottawa means that many residents in the southern communities of Arnprior and the surrounding area commute to the national capital for work, particularly in the federal public service.