(Ottawa) An epic clash is looming in eastern Quebec. MP and rising Bloc Québécois figure Kristina Michaud announced Thursday that she would face Minister Diane Lebouthillier in the next federal election.
The Bloc was at a time of choice while the riding she has represented since 2019, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, will disappear with the revision of the electoral map and will be encompassed by neighboring ridings, including that of the minister Lebouthillier.
During the last elections of 2021, Mme Michaud was easily re-elected with nearly 60% of the votes against her liberal rival Louis-Éric Savoie, who only obtained a little more than 21% of the votes.
Diane Lebouthillier, for her part, was elected in the constituency of Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine for the first time in 2015 and has been re-elected without interruption since.
During the last election, she received more than 46% of the votes against Bloc leader Guy Bernatchez, who won more than 39% of the vote.
Mme Lebouthillier has been minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard since the summer shuffle and previously served as minister of National Revenue.
She announced at the beginning of February that she intended to run for a new term, explaining that she still had the “sacred fire” to continue her work.