Bloc Quebecois's Sylvie Brub defeats 2 Indigenous rivals to retake northern Quebec riding

The Bloc Quebecois' Sylvie Brub has won a second mandate in the northern Quebec riding of AbitibiBaie-JamesNunavikEeyou.

The riding is the largest in Quebec and the third largest nationally. More than 30 per cent of the 65,172 eligible voters are Indigenous.

"The population has decided and I'm proud and happy to represent them," said Brub late Monday night from her riding office in Val d'Or.

With 202 of 210 polls reporting by Tuesday morning, Brub received 10,316votes or 38 per cent to the vote.

Her closest rival was one of two Indigenous candidates running in the riding,Lise Kistabish, from Pikogan,who was running for the Liberals. Kistabishgot 6,877 votes or 26 per cent of the vote.

The other Inidgenous candidate was Pauline Lameboy, of Chisasibi, who ran for the New Democratic Party and who got 3,067 votes or 11 per cent of the vote.The Conservative's Steve Corriveau was third with 16 per cent of the vote, or 4,334.

Vote splitting

Combined, the two Indigenous candidates came within 372 votes of Brub.

Asked about the risks of vote splitting before the election, Kistabish acknowledged it was a possibility, but that she had confidence voters would choose someone who had the chance of forming government.

"At the beginning of the campaign, I was the only Indigenous candidate," said Kistabish.

Kistabish and Lameboy were part of a group of seventy-seven Indigenous candidatesrunning in this federal election, a record number. There were 10 Indigenous members of parliament in the House of Commons in the last session.

Brub said she is looking forward to resuming her work as the Bloc's Indigenous Affairs critic and promised to continue her work as an ally to Indigenous peoples in Quebec.

"The [Bloc Quebecois] is an ally of Indigenous peoples," said Brub. "We will always respect the inherent rights to self-determination of Indigenous nations.

AbitibiBaie-JamesNunavikEeyou stretches across 854,754 square kilometres and includes14 Inuit villages, nineCree and twoAlgonquin communities and part of Naskapi territory. It also includesthe non-Indigenous towns of Val d'Or, Chapais, Chibougamau and Lebel-sur-Quevillion, among others.

MichalCloutier of the People's Party got fourper cent of the vote, or 1.024 votes.CdricBrazeau of the Free Party of Canada received twoper cent of the vote or 563 votes. And Didier Pilon of the Green Party received twoper cent of the vote or 425 votes.