Wide open race in Orléans
Area's most populous riding up for grabs with incumbent bowing out
Announcing in May that it was time for him to "take a new path," Liberal MP Andrew Leslie won't be running for re-election in Orléans, leaving the area's most populous riding up for grabs.
In 2015, Leslie, a retired lieutenant-general in the Canadian Forces, wrested the east Ottawa riding from Royal Galipeau, who had taken the previous three elections for the Conservatives.
Thirty per cent of the riding's constituents list their first language as French.
Its 97,144 registered voters will now choose between David Bertschi, a former federal Liberal leadership candidate now running for the Conservatives; Marie-France Lalonde, who leaves her seat representing this provincial riding at Queen's Park, Green Party candidate Michelle Petersen, who has experience working at CALACS, the area's francophone sexual assault support centre; Roger Saint-Fleur of the People's Party; and NDP candidate Jacqueline Wiens, an advocate for affordable housing and raising the minimum wage.
Candidates are included in this riding profile once they've been listed as a confirmed candidate by Elections Canada, chosen as the winner of a nomination contest or who were the chosen candidate by a party that got at least one per cent of the national popular vote in 2015.
Orléans in 2015
Candidate questionnaires
CBC Ottawa sent every candidate running in eastern Ontario or western Quebec seven questions via their party or a publicly available email address.
They were asked to stick to 25 to 100 word answers, depending on the questions.
Their answers have not been edited by CBC.