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“He was here for five years, he worked and paid his taxes.” Ramirez said.

Immigrants make up more than one-third of Bourassa’s population in a riding where the median household income is 37% lower than the Canadian median. Mansions and luxury seniors’ residences mark the riding’s northern border, backing onto the Rivière des Prairies, but just across the street, apartments are a much more common sight. Three-storey complexes with six units each are the most recognizable dwelling in the riding where 70% of residents rent their homes.

Bourassa has long been considered Liberal territory; Coderre led the party to six victories starting in 1997, with the Bloc Québecois typically coming in a distant second. In a remarkable shift in 2011, the NDP emerged as the biggest threat. The veteran MP hung on in the tightest win of his federal political career, beating NDP candidate Julie Demers by 3,280 votes (nine percentage points). Coderre was not available for an interview.

The NDP’s organizer for Quebec, Daniel Quinn, said he expects his party’s general momentum to carry into the byelection.

“This traditionally can be considered a Liberal stronghold, which is also how Outremont was described and no one ever expected Tom Mulcair in 2011 to be able to get elected,” he said, referring to the Montreal riding taken by the NDP leader. “It’s really going to be between us and the Liberals.”

But the emergence of a high-profile candidate for the Green party might tip the scales. A former NHL hockey player and son of Haitian immigrants, Georges Laraque, now the deputy leader of the Greens, announced his candidacy in early July.