The Political RecordFederal electoral districtsNo. 24018Quebec

Chicoutimi—Le Fjord

Name: Chicoutimi—Le Fjord by-election, 2026-08-31
Start: 2026-08-31
End: 2026-08-31

Chicoutimi—Le Fjord is a federal riding in Quebec. Daniel Gobeil (Liberal) has represented Chicoutimi—Le Fjord since the by-election of 2026-08-31. Daniel Gobeil took the seat from the Conservatives at the by-election of 2026-08-31 by 5,936 votes (18.7 points) with 51.6% of the vote. Richard Martel (Conservative) held Chicoutimi—Le Fjord for the Conservatives in the 2025 election by 1,499 votes (2.9 points), with 34.1% of the vote. Marc St-Hilaire (Bloc Québécois) was second with 31.2%, on a turnout of 68.5% of 75,229 electors. Member as of 2026-11-01.

Fig. 1 — Chicoutimi—Le Fjord on the board, 2023 boundaries; the ridings next door as the House holds them on 2026-11-01. Open it on the board →

Who represents Chicoutimi—Le Fjord

Daniel Gobeil's piece from the board. Illustration after the official portrait © House of Commons.

Daniel Gobeil

Member of Parliament for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord

Liberal

MP since the by-election of 2026-08-31 · first term

9 speeches in the 45th Parliament, most often on Building Canada Strong Act.

Contact and office · House of Commons →

The 2025 result: Conservative hold

Share of the valid votes by candidate, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, April 28, 2025

Shares of the 50,839 valid votes; a candidate under 1% is counted with the others. Source: Elections Canada, official voting results, the 2025 general election.

The figures

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Richard Martel	Conservative	17,356	34.1%
Marc St-Hilaire	Bloc Québécois	15,857	31.2%
Stéphane Proulx	Liberal	15,820	31.1%
Raphaël Émond	New Democratic	991	1.9%
Others (2)		815	1.6%

Richard Martel (Conservative) won Chicoutimi—Le Fjord on April 28, 2025 with 17,356 votes, 34.1% of the 50,839 valid votes. Marc St-Hilaire (Bloc Québécois) was second with 15,857 (31.2%), 1,499 votes and 2.9 points behind.

Of the 50,839 valid votes, Richard Martel (Conservative) took 34.1%, Marc St-Hilaire (Bloc Québécois) 31.2%, Stéphane Proulx (Liberal) 31.1% and Raphaël Émond (New Democratic) 1.9%; the 2 other candidates took 1.6% together. Turnout was 68.5% of 75,229 electors: 51,560 ballots cast, 50,839 of them valid, for 6 candidates.

Since 2021

Against the 2021 result on these boundaries, the Conservatives are down 5.5 (39.6% to 34.1%), the Bloc Québécois down 2.2 (33.4% to 31.2%), the Liberals up 13.2 (17.9% to 31.1%) and the New Democrats down 2.7 (4.6% to 1.9%), in points of the valid votes.

2021 is Elections Canada's transposition of that election onto the 2023 boundaries, not an election held on these lines.

Since 2004: no party has held it

The party first in Chicoutimi—Le Fjord at each general election, 2004 to 2025, on today's boundaries

2004Bloc Québécois45.6%by 2.7 points over the Liberals
2006Bloc Québécois38.5%by 10.2 points over the Liberals
2008Bloc Québécois41.2%by 5.7 points over the Conservatives
2011changed handsNew Democratic38.3%by 9.9 points over the Bloc Québécois
2015†changed handsLiberal30.8%by 1.1 points over the New Democrats
2019†changed handsBloc Québécois35.0%by 0.3 points over the Conservatives
2021changed handsConservative39.6%by 6.2 points over the Bloc Québécois
2025Conservative34.1%by 2.9 points over the Bloc Québécois

Each election carried onto today's boundaries by where the riding's 2025 electors lived: our estimate to 2019, Elections Canada's transposition for 2021, the official result for 2025. Parties are counted as they ran. † The first two are within two points, so which party was first is less certain.

The figures

Year	First	Share	Second	Margin (pts)	Basis
2004	Bloc Québécois	45.6%	Liberal	2.7	carried, our estimate
2006	Bloc Québécois	38.5%	Liberal	10.2	carried, our estimate
2008	Bloc Québécois	41.2%	Conservative	5.7	carried, our estimate
2011	New Democratic	38.3%	Bloc Québécois	9.9	carried, our estimate
2015†	Liberal	30.8%	New Democratic	1.1	carried, our estimate
2019†	Bloc Québécois	35.0%	Conservative	0.3	carried, our estimate
2021	Conservative	39.6%	Bloc Québécois	6.2	transposed by Elections Canada
2025	Conservative	34.1%	Bloc Québécois	2.9	official result

The Bloc Québécois were first at four of the eight general elections from 2004 to 2025, the Conservatives at two, the NDP at one and the Liberals at one; it changed hands four times. In 2025 the Conservatives took 34.1% of the vote here, 8.0 points above their average of 26.1% at the seven general elections from 2004 to 2021.

On today's boundaries the Bloc Québécois were first here in 2004 (45.6%), 2006 (38.5%), 2008 (41.2%) and 2019 (35.0%), the NDP in 2011 (38.3%), the Liberals in 2015 (30.8%) and the Conservatives in 2021 (39.6%) and 2025 (34.1%), each with the share of the valid votes shown.

A stronghold is a party first at every general election since 2004, by an average of 20 points or more over the next party; held, first at every one; usually, first at all but one. By-elections are not counted. By this rule 160 of the 343 ridings have no degree. The results before 2021 are carried onto today's boundaries by where the riding's 2025 electors lived: our estimate, from the older boundaries of Taylor, Lucas, Kirby and Hewitt and the results in Sevi's "Who Runs?". 2021 is Elections Canada's transposition, and 2025 the official result. In 2015 and 2019 the carried top two are within two points, so which party was first is less certain.

Before 2025

2021 Conservative · Richard Martel, by 3,201 votes (7.6 pts)
2019 Conservative · Richard Martel, by 834 votes (1.9 pts)
2015 Liberal · Denis Lemieux, by 600 votes (1.4 pts)

In the old Chicoutimi—Le Fjord on the 2013 boundaries, the riding most of the 2025 electors in today's Chicoutimi—Le Fjord lived in; Elections Canada's official results.

What kind of place Chicoutimi—Le Fjord is

Population: 92,4602021 census
Area: 3,989km²
Density: 23people per km²
Electors: 75,229on the 2025 lists

Distinctions · ranked against all 343 ridings

5th-most French mother tongue
97.2% have French as a mother tongue, 5th highest of 343 (Share with French as a mother tongue, 2021 census)

Share with French as a mother tongue is 97.2% — about 60.8 times the median riding's 1.6%.
highestlowest5th highest of 343
Share who are immigrants is 1.5% — about 9 percent of the median riding's 17.3%.
highestlowest15th lowest of 343
Median age is 46.8 — a little higher than the median riding's 41.6.
highestlowest53rd highest of 343
Median total household income is $68,500 — about 82 percent of the median riding's $84,000.
highestlowest55th lowest of 343
Share of households that own their home is 62.3% — a little lower than the median riding's 71.4%.
highestlowest94th lowest of 343
Share aged 25-64 with a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.2% — about 79 percent of the median riding's 28.2%.
highestlowest121st lowest of 343

2021 Census on the 2023 boundaries; each rule places this riding among all 343. Density is the census population over the riding's area.

IDid this riding change?

Yes. 87% of the 2025 electors in today's Chicoutimi—Le Fjord lived in the old Chicoutimi—Le Fjord; by area, 30% of the riding came from other ridings.

Share of today's electorsFormer riding

86.6%Chicoutimi—Le Fjord 70.4% of the area

13.4%Jonquière 29.6% of the area · 3% of it kept

How this is measured. Electors: the share of the current riding's 2025 ordinary-list electors who lived in each former riding, each 2025 polling division placed in the 2013 riding a point inside it falls in. Area: the share of the current riding's area that came from each former riding, by intersecting the 2013 and 2023 boundary files, and how much of the former riding that part was. Area is land, not population. Elections Canada counts 48 of 343 ridings as entirely unchanged.

IIThe 2025 result

Candidate	Party	Votes	%	2021	±
Richard Martel	Conservative	17,356	34.1%	39.6%	−5.5
Marc St-Hilaire	Bloc Québécois	15,857	31.2%	33.4%	−2.2
Stéphane Proulx	Liberal	15,820	31.1%	17.9%	+13.2
Raphaël Émond	New Democratic	991	1.9%	4.6%	−2.7

2 further candidates, each under 1% of the vote

Yves Laporte	Green	476	0.9%
François Sabourin	People's	339	0.7%

The 2021 column is Elections Canada's official transposition of the 2021 result onto these 2023 boundaries. ± is the change in each party's share. It is not "swing": with four or more competitive parties there is no single pair to swing between.

The by-election of 2026-08-31Liberal gain from the Conservatives

Daniel Gobeil (Liberal) took Chicoutimi—Le Fjord from the Conservatives at the by-election of 2026-08-31 by 5,936 votes (18.7 points) with 51.6% of the vote; Caroline Dubé (Bloc Québécois) was second with 32.8%.

Elected: Daniel Gobeil Liberal · 16,333 votes · 51.6%
Runner-up: Caroline Dubé Bloc Québécois · 10,397 votes · 32.8%
Margin: 5,936 votes 18.7 pts · of 31,681 valid votes
Turnout: 42.8% of 74,952 electors · 363 rejected ballots

The Liberal share here was 51.6% at the by-election of 2026-08-31 and 31.1% in the 2025 election, with 6 candidates on the ballot.

Source: Elections Canada, results validated by the returning officer, read 2026-10-08. Every candidate and the full result →

IIIHow close was it, really

Third place vs. the margin

15,820 votes

Liberal took more than the 1,499-vote margin. True in 100 of 343 ridings in 2025.

Election-day polls won by others

88 of 189

4 polls ended in an exact tie.

Fig. 2 — Each square is one election-day poll: ■ won by the Conservatives (97) · ■ won by another party (88) · ▨ tied (4).

Flip the seatHypothetical

It would have taken 750 voters switching from Conservative to Bloc Québécois — 1.5% of the 50,839 valid votes, 1.4 points — to change the result. No ballot was cast this way; this only moves votes between the top two.

Voters who switch: 001,500

Conservative17,356

Bloc Québécois15,857

Still Conservative by 1,499 votes. Actual margin: 1,499.

IVElection day versus advance

Only 67.5% of this riding's votes were cast at election-day polls. The rest were advance or special ballots.

On election day the Liberals took 27.6%, the Bloc Québécois 31.7%, the Conservatives 36.7% and the New Democrats 2.2%; in advance and special ballots, 38.5%, 30.0%, 28.9% and 1.4%, in that order.

Share of the valid votes by party, election-day polls against advance and special ballots, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, April 28, 2025

Shares of the valid votes cast at election-day polls, and of those cast at advance polls, at mobile polls and by special ballot; the gap is the second less the first, in points. Source: Elections Canada, poll-by-poll results, the 2025 general election.

The figures

Party	Election day	Advance and special	Gap
Liberal	27.6%	38.5%	+10.9
Bloc Québécois	31.7%	30.0%	−1.7
Conservative	36.7%	28.9%	−7.8
New Democratic	2.2%	1.4%	−0.8

An association, not a cause. Voters who cast ballots before election day differed from those who turned out on the day. It does not say why. There is no poll-level turnout figure on this page: the elector count on a polling division includes people who voted in advance and were counted elsewhere.

VWhere it is

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Fig. 3 — Chicoutimi—Le Fjord and its 3 neighbouring ridings.

Sources and citation

"Chicoutimi—Le Fjord — federal riding profile and 2025 results."
The Political Record. https://politicalrecord.ca/riding/chicoutimi-le-fjord/
Accessed 2026-11-10.

Results and transposition: Elections Canada. Boundaries: Elections Canada / Statistics Canada, Open Government Licence – Canada. Census: Statistics Canada 2021 Census. Member: House of Commons.

Figures reconcile to the certified national total of 19,641,663 votes. The member is as the House of Commons listed them on 2026-11-01. Page built 2026-11-10.