The Quebec provincial election will take place on Oct. 5. The candidates running in the Ungava riding are, from left: Amélie Béchard, Coalition Avenir Québec; Sonia Caron, Parti Québécois; Antoine Côté, Québec solidaire; Sandrine Rioux, Quebec Liberal Party; and Marc Damant, Conservative Party of Quebec. (Photos courtesy of Coalition Avenir Québec, Parti Québécois, Québec solidaire, Conservative Party of Quebec and Quebec Liberal Party)
Five candidates run for Ungava riding in Quebec election
Provincial election scheduled for Oct. 5
This story was updated Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, at 10:54 a.m. ET.
Five candidates are running in Quebec’s largest riding by land mass, which includes Nunavik, in the Oct. 5 provincial election.
Ungava MNA Denis Lamothe, who has held that seat since 2018, announced in January he would not seek re-election. His Coalition Avenir Québec party has nominated Amélie Béchard instead.
Originally from Matagami, she is a forestry engineer who specializes in operations management and forest planning. She has served on several boards of directors including the Matagami Commercial Development Corp.
The Parti Québécois nominated Sonia Caron, who manages the Baie-James Vocational Training Centre in Chibougamau.
In a statement posted on the party’s website, Caron said she hopes to give more decision-making power to northern communities, protect Indigenous Peoples’ ways of life, and ensure communities benefit from the North’s resources.
“I will be proud to be the first woman elected Member of the National Assembly for Ungava, and the first elected person born from the constituency,” she said.
Antoine Côté will represent Québec Solidaire.
Côté ran for councillor in Montreal in the 2025 municipal election. Parti Solitaire’s website does not yet list a biography or campaign priorities for Côté but says the information will be added.
Marc Damant is the candidate for the Conservative Party of Quebec.
As an airport operator, Damant serves several communities in Nunavik, including Kuujjuaq, Inukjuak and Umiujaq. He also served as a reservist in the Canadian Armed Forces for 11 years.
On July 15, the Quebec Liberal Party nominated Sandrine Rioux, a 30-year-old digital marketing specialist originally from Chibougamau, Northern Quebec’s largest town.
”Ungava isn’t just the region where I grew up — it’s the place that shaped my values and my perspective on Quebec,” Rioux said in a news release. “I understand the unique challenges our communities face, but also their immense potential.”
The polls will be open on Oct. 5.
Correction: This article has been corrected to clarify that Parti Québécois candidate Sonia Caron is not — and never claimed she was — Indigenous. Rather, she stated that she was born within the Ungava riding.
YAWN !!!
Right?
Do they even know where Nunavik is?
In 2010 Yvon Levesque , parti quebecois goverment flew to kangisuallujaq instend of
kangisujuaq by mistake , at least she knew , where nunavik is
Marc Damant lives and works in Kuujjuaq
Great in the keeping of the field open with a fair wide choice of candidates and parties. It is our good fortune to have quality representation up here in N Quebec.
Of all the candidates, I don’t see any real choice for us northerners. The CAQ has done nothing for us in the 8+ years in power and have done more harm than many parties. For me a PQ government is not an option so the only viable alternative is the Liberal candidate, Sandrine Rioux. We don’t want a PQ majority government.
CAQ is finished in Quebec.
The PQ want to seperate, which means funding for Nunavik and it’s beneficiaries, will end.
The Conservatives cannot be trusted but have an Airport operator who serves several communities in Nunavik, where they oversees airport operations and security running
Quebec solidaire has a student running, who has no idea, connection, or first hand knowledge of Nunavik.
The Liberals have someone running who is a native of Chibougamau, and has deep ties to Ungava and Northern Quebec, where they grew up.
So please go vote and make it count to secure Nunavik.