Chris Lowrey
AYLMER Oct. 1, 2018
Despite a strong showing by the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) in the Outaouais, Liberal MNA André Fortin has been re-elected in Pontiac.
Fortin won the riding with more than 50 per cent of the vote (14,839 out of 27,588 total votes). The CAQ representative, Olive Kamanyana, finished in second place, with just over 20 per cent of the vote (5,621 votes).
This is actually decline for Fortin, who received 75 per cent of the vote when he was first elected in 2014.
Fortin, the outgoing Transport Minister, watched the results come in on Oct. 1 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Aylmer. He thanked his family and his volunteers, who he referred to as the best campaign team in the province.

Fortin wasted no time embracing his role of critic as he vowed to oppose any values test.
The CAQ campaigned on implementing a French language test for new immigrants after their first three years. If they fail to pass the test, they could face expulsion from the province.
Fortin, who held a prominent position in the last government as Transport Minister, was non committal when asked about his chances of being named the next leader of the Liberals.
“Our party has managed to renew itself for 150 years,” he said.
Although Fortin will no longer have a cabinet position in the government, he says his priorities won’t change.
“Whether it was our government or another government, my priorities don’t change,” he said. “The priority files I worked on before will be the ones I continue to work on.”
With files from Caleb Nickerson.