By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
In the wake of a somewhat narrow national Liberal minority win, two familiar names from the Eastern Townships are heading to Ottawa—though their paths were markedly different on election night.
In Brome–Missisquoi, former Bromont mayor Louis Villeneuve secured a solid Liberal victory with 48.2 per cent of the vote, outpacing Bloc Québécois candidate Jeff Boudreault (28.2 per cent) and Conservative Steve Charbonneau (19.0 per cent). Villeneuve, who resigned from his post as mayor on April 29, reflected on the change in scale his new role entails. “As a mayor, I was a big fish in a small pond,” he said. “Now I’ll be a small fish in a big one.”
Despite having hoped for a Liberal majority, Villeneuve said he is confident the minority government under Mark Carney will be able to deliver. “It’s not because we are a minority that we can’t do the job,” he stated. He added that he expects Carney to work across party lines to tackle national issues, especially Canada’s relationship with the United States. “We need to work together to make Canada… I don’t want to say, ‘make Canada great again,’ but you know what I mean.”
Villeneuve emphasized that his top priority is to represent the needs of Brome–Missisquoi residents in Parliament. “My first responsibility is to be the voice of the people here,” he said. Housing, health, the environment, and supply management emerged as key concerns during his campaign. He said his 12 years in municipal politics have shaped his approach to federal work, particularly in bringing a spirit of “proximity” to his new role. “Municipalities are the government closest to the people,” he said. “I want to bring that same connection to Ottawa.”
Across the district line in Shefford, Bloc Québécois MP Andréanne Larouche narrowly held her seat, beating Liberal Félix Dionne by less than one per cent—39.8 to 38.9. “It was very close,” Larouche acknowledged, noting she had been too busy meeting constituents the day after the vote to check whether a recount would be triggered.
