Jean-François Fortin (born September 12, 1973) is a

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. He was elected to represent the riding of

Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia (formerly known as Matapédia—Matane) was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 until 2013. It has the lowest percenta ...

in the 2011 federal election as a member of the Bloc Québécois, and was chosen interim parliamentary leader of the Bloc on February 26, 2014. On August 12, 2014, Fortin quit the party to sit as an independent, saying that the Bloc Québécois he had joined no longer exists and that new party leader Mario Beaulieu had destroyed its credibility. On October 21, 2014, Fortin, along with Jean-François Larose, the

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National ...

MP for Repentigny, announced that they were forming Strength in Democracy, a new

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

-centred political party dedicated to representing the province's regions. In the 2015 federal election he ran for the new riding of

Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia is a federal electoral district in Quebec. It encompasses a portion of Quebec previously included in the electoral districts of Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine (21%) and Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Ma ...

and lost to Liberal Rémi Massé.

Early life

Prior to being elected to parliament, Fortin was a professor of political science at

Cégep de Rimouski The Cégep de Rimouski is a post-secondary education institution (cégep: College of General and Professional Education) located in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada. History The college traces its origins to the merger of several institutions which bec ...

from 2001 until 2011. He was also elected as a city councillor in Sainte-Flavie in 2003 and served a term as mayor from 2006 until 2009.

Political career

Fortin was one of only four Bloc Québécois MPs elected in the 2011 federal election which saw the party's caucus reduced from 47 to 4 and was the only non-incumbent Bloc candidate to win election. He won the seat of

, which had been vacated by fellow Bloc Québécois politician Jean-Yves Roy who resigned from Parliament in late 2010 because of ill health. On September 17, 2011, Fortin declared his candidacy in the Bloc Québécois leadership election that was held to choose a successor to Gilles Duceppe. He was defeated on the first ballot on December 11, 2011. Fortin considered running in the 2014 party leadership election but decided to back André Bellavance. On August 12, 2014, almost two months after Mario Beaulieu's upset victory, Fortin quit the Bloc Quebecois to sit as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

accusing Beaulieu of "pushing a unidimensional, intransigent agenda that lacks rigour has put an end to the credibility established by (former leaders) Gilles Duceppe and followed up by

Daniel Paillé Daniel Paillé (; born April 1, 1950) is a Canadian politician, who represented the riding of Prévost in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 1996 as a member of the Parti Québécois, and represented the district of Hochelaga in t ...

, two leaders who merit great respect." He continued, saying that "Beaulieu is dividing sovereignists instead of uniting them." In October, Fortin and another MP announced the formation of the Strength in Democracy party, which sat in the Canadian legislature with Fortin as leader. In the 2015 federal election Fortin ran for the redistributed riding of

under the Strength In Democracy banner. He lost to Liberal Rémi Massé, coming in fourth.

Election results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortin, Jean-Francois 1973 births Living people Bloc Québécois MPs Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Mayors of places in Quebec Strength in Democracy MPs 21st-century Canadian politicians French Quebecers