This story has been updated from its original version

Correction Oct. 22: This story didn’t originally list Suzanne Romain as a candidate for Seat #2 in Bryson. THE EQUITY apologizes for this oversight.

This past Friday Oct. 3, the nomination period for the Nov. 2 municipal election closed, finalizing the candidates for warden, mayor and council (full list of candidates on page two). Advance voting will take place on Oct. 26.

Warden’s race

There are four candidates for  warden of MRC Pontiac, with two Campbell’s Bay councillors,  Josey Bouchard and Jean-Pierre Landry, and Mansfield businessman Bruno St-Cyr facing off against two-term incumbent Jane Toller. THE EQUITY will be publishing interviews with each of these candidates in the Oct. 15 issue of this newspaper, alongside video interviews that will appear on our YouTube channel
(@EquityNewspaper) and Facebook page (The Equity’s Community Hub). 

Just under half of seats contested, acclamations down slightly

This year in MRC Pontiac five of 18 mayoral seats (27.7 per cent) and 57 of 102 council seats (55.9 per cent) were acclaimed for a total (including the warden’s race) of 62 of 121 seats (51.2 per cent). This is down from the races in the 2021 election, where 73 of 125 seats were won unopposed (58.4 per cent). According to THE EQUITY’s reporting at the time, the acclamation rate was 40 per cent in 2017 and 55 per cent in 2013. 

The municipalities of Chichester and Campbell’s Bay were elected entirely by acclamation in 2021, and each only have one seat contested this year. 

Mansfield-et-Pontefract is the only municipality with every council seat contested (though not the mayor’s seat), while Bristol, Portage-du-Fort, Shawville and Thorne have four council seats contested each, as well as a mayoral race. 

In MRC Pontiac, five members of the past council of mayors have been re-elected by acclamation: Raymond Pilon of Campbell’s Bay, Donald Gagnon of Chichester, Corey Spence of L’Isle-aux-Allumettes, Colleen Larivière of Litchfield, and Sandra Armstrong of Mansfield-et-Pontefract. 

Armstrong wrote in a message on social media over the weekend thanking constituents for their support.

“Today, I speak to you with emotion. Being re-elected unopposed is a powerful gesture on your part, and I would like to sincerely thank you for this mark of confidence,” she said. 

Spence said that he was prepared for a fight, was happy with the outcome. 

“I never take anything for granted, so I was prepared to, you know, I had signs ready, I had everything ready to go just in case someone decided to challenge me,” he said. “I wanted to go in and get another term in because there are things I still want to do in this community.”

He said that a large inter-municipal grant for waste collection in Allumettes, Sheenboro and Chichester was one project he would like to see through. At the MRC level, he said that having been made chair of the budget committee, he would like to keep a close eye on regional finances. 

“For sure, for the budget, I want to see things different, because you’ve got to be really accountable for the money that we spend,” he said. “I don’t mind paying my fair share of the shares from a municipality perspective to the MRC, but I want to make sure it’s spent correctly. So far I think it is, but I think there’s also tons of room for improvement.”

Larivière, now entering her fourth term at the helm of Litchfield council, ran unopposed for the second consecutive time and said she is taking the result as a vote of confidence to continue working to improve life for residents. 

“I’m hoping it’s a sign that the residents of Litchfield think I’m doing a good job, and that’s my plan [ . . . ] And I’m grateful that they gave me another four years to continue doing what I’m doing,” she said. 

Larivière said she is looking forward to another four years with her council, five of six of whom were also acclaimed alongside her. 

“We are very close to seeing new construction, hopefully in the new year, so that’s a major file    [ . . . ]
and at the MRC level, economic development is a big thing and I hope to continue to see if we can get work on getting industry and more small businesses up and going,” she said. 

Ten other outgoing mayors are once again vying for the top seats in their municipalities. The vast majority of races are head-to-head, though there are three-way races for mayor of Bryson and Thorne.

Beginning in this issue of this newspaper, THE EQUITY is publishing interviews with mayoral candidates in every municipality where there are at least two candidates. This week we are publishing interviews with candidates in Bristol, Clarendon and Shawville (see page three).

Pontiac’s rates of acclamation this year are comparable to neighbouring MRC Vallée-de-la-Gatineau, which has a slightly larger population of 21,000, as radio station CHGA reported that five of 17 (29.4 per cent) mayors were acclaimed, and 44 out of 100 (44 per cent) of candidates ran unopposed, for a total acclamation rate of 49 out of 118 seats (41.5 per cent)(warden included).

Radio-Canada reported that across the Outaouais, there were three of six mayors acclaimed in MRC des Collines, and 11 out of 25 in MRC Papineau. The article quotes University of Ottawa political science professor Anne Mevellec as saying that acclamation rates have varied between 54 and 60 per cent across the province since 2005. 

Three municipalities without mayoral incumbents

Outgoing Fort-Coulonge mayor Christine Francoeur is running for the council seat one, which she held prior to being elected mayor. She confirmed to CHIP 101.9 that she has taken a job with Pontiac MP Sophie Chatel. 

At the September council of mayors meeting, Rapides-des-Joachims mayor Lucie Rivet Paquette announced she wouldn’t be seeking re-election. Paquette was elected in a by-election in 2023 following the death of former mayor Doug Rousselle and served for two years as mayor of the small municipality. Bryson mayor Alain Gagnon is also stepping down from his seat. 

Former mayors making reappearances

Several former mayors are back in the running, though not always for their old seats. Former L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet mayor Serge Newberry (2017-2021), is running for seat one in his municipality, and former Mansfield-et-Pontefract mayor Gilles Dionne (2017-2021) is seeking seat three in his. Former Thorne Mayor Terrence Murdock (2013-2017) is up against outgoing mayor Karen Daly Kelly. The two have faced off in the past two election cycles, and are joined in this year’s mayoral race by former Thorne councillor Deborah Stafford. 

More of the same in MoP

Down in the Municipality of Pontiac in neighbouring MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais, voters will only have the choice between two candidates for seat four, as warden Marc Carrière and the majority of council ran unopposed. A similar level of acclamation occurred in that municipality in 2021, when again only one seat was contested. 

Fort-Coulonge and Bryson go down to four

The municipalities of Bryson and Fort-Coulonge both reduced their number of seats from six to four last year in response to the province’s Bill 57, which allows municipalities with less than 2,000 residents to reduce their council size. Rapides-des-Joachims already had a council of four. Jacques Demers, the President of the Federation of Quebec Municipalities, told the Canadian Press in Sept. 2024 that many small towns have difficulty filling full slates of candidates. However, Fort-Coulonge and Bryson are in the middle of the pack as far as size in MRC Pontiac, with 1,091 and 512 registered voters in the last election respectively.

With files from K.C. Jordan.

2025 election candidates

Compiled by Caleb Nickerson

* incumbent 

+ outgoing from different position

MRC Pontiac Warden

Josey Bouchard+, Jean-Pierre Landry+, Bruno St-Cyr,
Jane Toller*

Alleyn-et-Cawood

Mayor – Carl Mayer*, Sidney Squitti+

Seat 1 – Jessica Cayer (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 2 – Guy Bergeron* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 3 – Angela Giroux (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – James Giroux*,  Ashley Miljour

Seat 5 – Maggie Early, Mona Giroux*

Seat 6 – Amanda Peck (Elected by acclamation)

Bristol

Mayor – Brent Orr*, Valerie Twolan-Graham+

Seat 1 – Steven Gray, Alex Mahon

Seat 2 – Angela Davis, Archie Greer*, Christine Rybak

Seat 3 – Meaghan McConnell* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – Greg Graham* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Nancy Crain, Kim Crawford*

Seat 6 – Randy Chabot, Remo Pasteris

Bryson

Mayor – Eric Harrington, Joanne Ralston+, Jian Zhang+

Seat 1 – Christina Cameron, David Miljour*, Kelly Nitschkie

Seat 2 – Daphnie Cameron, Melanie Ostrom, Suzanne Romain, Gerald Stewart

Seat 3 – Serge Lance* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – Wayne Cameron*, Marc Gauthier+

Campbell’s Bay

Mayor – Raymond Pilon* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 1 – Leen Matthyssen* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 2 – Tim Ferrigan* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 3 – D. J. Dagenais (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – Stéphanie Hébert Shea* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Vince Belland, Willy Rivet

Seat 6 – Suzanne Dubeau-Pilon* (Elected by acclamation)

Chichester

Mayor – Donald Gagnon* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 1 – Dustin Denault* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 2 – Louis Schryer* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 3 – Jacques Fleury* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – Chrissy Ann Payne* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Corey Bissonnette* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 6 – Tony Kime, Cameron Montgomery

Clarendon

Mayor – Michael Hodgins, Edward Walsh*

Seat 1 – Rick Younge* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 2 – Jonathan Dagg*, Jeffrey Hannaberry, Stephen Sharpe

Seat 3 – Phillip Elliott* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – Phillip Holmes* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Nicholas Murdock, Eric Smith*

Seat 6 – Mavis Hanna* (Elected by acclamation)

Fort-Coulonge

Mayor – Pierre Cyr, Philippe Ouellet+

Seat 1 – Christine Francoeur+, Dave Hérault*

Seat 2 – Sylvain Fortin (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 3 – Terry Charette, Gaétan Graveline*

Seat 4 – Ian Dagenais (Elected by acclamation)

L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet

Mayor – Jean-Louis Corriveau*, Sylvain Tremblay

Seat 1 – Brian Duval, Serge Newberry

Seat 2 – Riley Griffin (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 3 – Chantal Corriveau* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – Jean-Guy Brousseau* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Marcelle Dumouchel, Francine Tremblay

Seat 6 – Adrienne Turgeon* (Elected by acclamation)

L’Isle-aux-Allumettes

Mayor – Corey Spence* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 1 – Mariette Sallafranque* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 2 – Patrick Fleming* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 3 – Ivan Schryer* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – Adele Allard (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Brian Adam*, Jeremiah Nephin

Seat 6 – Robert Chafe* (Elected by acclamation)

Litchfield

Mayor – Colleen Lariviere* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 1 – Terry Racine* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 2 – Courtney Harris* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 3 – Travis Corriveau, Oleksandra Oleszkiewicz

Seat 4 – Rick Frost* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Emile Morin* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 6 – John Stitt* (Elected by acclamation)

Mansfield-et-Pontefract

Mayor – Sandra Armstrong* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 1 – Daphne Laycock, Richard Morrissette*

Seat 2 – Brian Boisvert*, Richard Pleau

Seat 3 – Gilles Dionne, Ghislaine Fortin

Seat 4 – Pierre Aubrey, Garry Ladouceur*

Seat 5 – Claudette Béland*, Colin LeBrun

Seat 6 – Louise Belec, Sébastien Denault*

Otter Lake

Mayor – Jennifer Quaile*, Sonia St-Laurent

Seat 1 – Vincent Jones (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 2 – Gerry Bimm (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 3 – Daniel Lamarche*, Natasha St-Aubin

Seat 4 – Penny Dubeau* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Lionel Racine, Donna Roy, Serge Sabourin*

Seat 6 – Valérie Lamoureux, Robin Zacharias*

Portage-du-Fort

Mayor – Lynne Judd-Cameron*, Kevin Murphy

Seat 1 – Martin Hérault, Jacqueline McCallum

Seat 2 – Brooke Mallette*, Nicole Thompson

Seat 3 – Dominic Bisson* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – Kim Elliott* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Cody Coughlin*, Robert McCallum, Rodrigo Morante Tirado

Seat 6 – Jacques Desjardins, Alan Farrell*

Rapides-des-Joachims

Mayor – Roger Peter Lafond, Joe Lance

Seat 1 – Stephany Rauche* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 2 – Noel Leclerc*, Dale Levesque

Seat 3 – Cassandra Burany, Anne-Marie Butler

Seat 4 – Kelsey Daly* (Elected by acclamation)

Shawville

Mayor – Linda Davis, William McCleary*

Seat 1 – Julien Gagnon* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 2 – Christine Armitage, Lyse-Ann Gregory Lacourse

Seat 3 – Joanne Dumouchel, Lisa Taylor

Seat 4 – Richard Armitage* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Randy Gagnon, Inger Vandervelden Elliott

Seat 6 – Cathy Meier, Katie Sharpe*

Sheenboro

Mayor – Shamus Morris+, Doris Venasse Ranger*

Seat 1 – Mary Beth Jones (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 2 – John Brennan* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 3 – Michel Morency (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – Jean Gleason (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Eldon Jennings, Sara Lafreniere, Joann McCann Magill

Seat 6 – Karen Shea* (Elected by acclamation)

Thorne 

Mayor – Karen- Daly Kelly*, Terrence Murdock, Deborah Stafford+

Seat 1 – David Berry, John Ward

Seat 2 – Marsha Bean* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 3 – Robert Blaskie* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – Christine Anderson, Lisanne Erskine

Seat 5 – Karen Dunlop, McIsaac, Samantha Jane Renaud, Todd Smith

Seat 6 – Terri-lyn Blaskie, Norma Charette – Turcotte+

Waltham

Mayor – Jordan Evans, Odette Godin*

Seat 1 – Mark Burnett, Chantal Fortin

Seat 2 – Leonard Godin*, Francis Turner

Seat 3 – Holli Lair, Ramona Marion*

Seat 4 – Brendan Adam* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 5 – Elwood Allard* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 6 – Tyler Rochon* (Elected by acclamation)

MRC des Collines Warden

Marc Carrière* (Elected by acclamation)

Municipality of Pontiac

Mayor – Roger Larose* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 1 – Jean Coté (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 2 – Scott McDonald (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 3 – Garry Dagenais* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 4 – Serge Laforest*, Lina Légaré

Seat 5 – Chantal Allen* (Elected by acclamation)

Seat 6 – Jean Amyotte* (Elected by acclamation)