Rhéal Fortin

Rhéal Éloi Fortin MP (French: [ʁeal fɔʁtɛ̃]) is a Canadian lawyer and politician, who is the member of the House of Commons for Rivière-du-Nord.

Rhéal Fortin MP
Spokesperson of Québec debout Groupe parlementaire québécois (March — June)
In office March 21, 2018 – September 17, 2018
Preceded by	Caucus founded
Succeeded by	Caucus dissolved
Leader of the Bloc Québécois Interim
In office October 22, 2015 – March 18, 2017
Preceded by	Gilles Duceppe
Succeeded by	Martine Ouellet
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Rivière-du-Nord
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Pierre Dionne Labelle
Personal details
Born	Rhéal Éloi Fortin Laval-des-Rapides, Quebec, Canada
Political party	Bloc Québécois
Other political affiliations	Québec debout (2018)
Residence	Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, Quebec[1]
Profession	Lawyer

A lawyer by profession, he is the president of Bissonnette Fortin Giroux, a law firm in Saint-Jérôme. He studied law at University of Sherbrooke. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 election in Rivière-du-Nord as a member of the Bloc Québécois,[2]

Fortin was named interim leader of the Bloc Québécois on October 22, 2015 following the resignation of Gilles Duceppe as leader after Duceppe was unable to win his seat in the election.[3]

He served as interim leader of the party until the next leader, Martine Ouellet was named on March 18, 2017.

Fortin and six other Bloc MPs resigned from the Bloc's caucus to sit as an independent MP on February 28, 2018 citing conflicts with Ouellet's leadership.[4] Fortin then served as leader of the party formed by the dissidents, Québec debout.[5] He rejoined the Bloc Québécois caucus on September 17, 2018.[6]

Biography

Fortin was born in Laval-des-Rapides, Quebec. He started working when he was 18. He completed a CEGEP electrician's diploma, equivalent to junior college. He was a worker in a factory in Laval from 1977 to 1985, then left to attend university to study law. After completing his legal education, he began practising law in Saint-Jérôme in 1992.

Political career

He has been politically active ever since high school, when he volunteered to put up lawn signs for the Parti Québécois. He ran for the Parti Québécois nomination for the election for the National Assembly of Quebec for Prévost, but lost to Gilles Robert. In 2015 he ran for the Bloc Québécois in the riding Rivière-du-Nord and won. He became the interim leader of Bloc Québécois on October 22, 2015.[7] On December 7, 2016, he announced that he would not be seeking the permanent leadership of the party at its leadership election in 2017.

He served as the BQ's critic for intergovernmental affairs, human rights, justice, and access to information in the House of Commons until February 2018, when he and six other Bloc MPs quit the caucus and formed the Groupe parlementaire québécois in protest of Martine Ouellet's leadership style. Fortin was named the group's spokesperson on March 21, 2018.[8]

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Rivière-du-Nord
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Bloc Québécois	Rhéal Fortin	31,281	52.0	+20.0
	Liberal	Florence Gagnon	13,402	22.3	-4.1
	Conservative	Sylvie Fréchette	7,120	11.8	+3.3
	New Democratic	Myriam Ouellette	4,194	7.0	-23.1
	Green	Joey Leckman	3,345	5.6	+3.1
	People's	Normand Michaud	407	0.7	–
	Indépendence du Québec	Nicolas Riqueur-Lainé	225	0.4	–
	Independent	Lucie St-Gelais	127	0.2	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			60,101	100.0
Total rejected ballots			1,206
Turnout			61,307	64.0
Eligible voters			95,813
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]

2015 Canadian federal election: Rivière-du-Nord
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Bloc Québécois	Rhéal Fortin	18,157	32.05	+3.85	–
	New Democratic	Pierre Dionne Labelle	17,077	30.14	-24.98	–
	Liberal	Janice Bélair Rolland	14,933	26.36	+19.91	–
	Conservative	Romain Vignol	4,793	8.46	+0.03	–
	Green	Joey Leckman	1,436	2.53	+0.74	–
	Rhinoceros	Fobozof A. Côté	261	0.46	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			56,657	100.0		$229,198.01
Total rejected ballots			1,044	–	–
Turnout			57,701	65.13	–
Eligible voters			88,586
	Bloc Québécois gain from New Democratic		Swing		+14.42
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]

References

1. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
2. "Rhéal Fortin, nouveau député de Rivière-du-Nord". Louis-Xavier Michaud. TopoLocal Saint-Jérôme. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
3. "Gilles Duceppe Stepping Down, Will Be Replaced By Rheal Fortin". Huffington Post. Canadian Press. October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
4. Allard, Clement (February 28, 2018). "Seven of 10 Bloc Quebecois MPs quit over Martine Ouellet's leadership". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
5. http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?dir=par&document=index&lang=e&section=pol#QD
6. "5 Bloc Québécois MPs who quit party returning to the fold". CBC News. September 17, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
7. http://stjerome.topolocal.ca/2015/10/10/conversation-rheal-fortin/
8. "Ex-Bloc MPs name spokesperson, no leader - The Hill Times". The Hill Times. 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
9. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
10. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
11. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Rivière-du-Nord, 30 September 2015
12. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates