CALEB NICKERSON
PONTIAC Oct. 26, 2018
On Oct. 26, Pontiac MNA André Fortin stopped by The Equity office for an interview as the newly appointed opposition critic for healthcare and vitality of regions. He talked about his recent re-election, his new role in the official opposition and the possibility of a run for party leadership.
Looking back on the previous four years, Fortin said that the thing he was most proud of was the rapport he built with local residents and elected officials alike.
“I think that’s what I’m most proud of over the years, is building a very close rapport with the community, in the sense that people can approach us with their issues, with their problems, but also just be honest and tell us what they really feel,” he said.

Time management was one of the major challenges for Fortin’s freshman term, as the travel to and from Quebec City was challenging, especially with a young family at home.
“I found at the start of the mandate it was always difficult, I always felt like I was in the wrong place, but that’s stuff you work out over time,” he said. “You can’t be everywhere at once, you just have to prioritize.”
He added that his appointment to Minister of Transport in November 2017, becoming the province’s youngest serving cabinet minister, defiantly ratcheted up the workload.
“It did put an additional stress on the family but I think there’s a way to do it,” he said. “If you can put the phone aside for a few hours and actually focus on what you’re doing, I think there’s a way you can make it work.”
According to Fortin, running a second time was a drastically different experience than his first election.
“It’s funny, the first campaign, you’ve got a few things you want to improve on but you haven’t really had a chance to speak with people about it that much. You haven’t had the chance to sell yourself as an individual yet. You’re really going on the party name and the party platform,” he said. “Running a second time almost feels like a referendum on your performance in the first term.”
Another difference between the two campaigns was the number of opponents. In 2014, there were five candidates for Pontiac, in 2018 there were eight.
“Generally speaking, the more options citizens have, that’s a good thing for democracy, it shows … that you can run with different ideas, different platforms,” he said. “So I thought that was a plus for this campaign.”
Fortin said that a greater number of options for voters was a good thing for democracy, but said he was disappointed that some candidates didn’t show up for public debates.
One trend from the election getting a lot of attention from analysts was the steep decline in voter turnout in major Anglophone ridings considered strongholds by the Liberals. Pontiac was one of the 25 ridings with the steepest declines, falling from 68.24 per cent overall turnout in 2014 to 53.53 per cent this year.
“I don’t think there’s a shortage of political analysis across the province, but it does seem like something that was noticeable in the election,” Fortin said. “Areas that have a lot of Engilsh-speaking Quebecers, probably the turnout was a little bit lower, so maybe there’s a message to us as a political party, and all the various political parties, that the English-speaking community wants to be heard a little bit more and we have to make efforts to get to English-speaking Quebecers.”
The Pontiac is no stranger to healthcare issues, and Fortin said that he had his work cut out for him as the critic for health care. He noted that in addition to problems with hospitals and staffing, he would be addressing public health issues as well, such as the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ)’s promised changes to cannabis legislation.
“The new government has indicated that they want to make changes on that [file], so I’ll be front and centre in the Assembly on that,” he said, noting that the CAQ’s proposals to restrict consumption and up the legal age to 21 would push more young people towards the black market.
He added that the CAQ’s plan to construct a hospital in the Outaouais is far-fetched at best.
“The problem with their proposal on healthcare is that A, it doesn’t do much for the rural regions of the Outaouais but, B, the real issue for healthcare in this region is staffing,” he said. “You could build four walls, you could put a hospital in the city but if you don’t have the human resources to serve patients, then the quality of care won’t necessarily increase.”
Fortin said that he looked forward to delving into the healthcare file, in addition to his other mandate as the critic for vitality of regions.
“A region like ours is a perfect example, there are so many people working so hard to improve this region on a daily basis and the issues that we face are different than the issues that Montrealers, people in Quebec City or even people in Aylmer and Gatineau have to face,” he said. “It requires a different approach.”
Following the Quebec Liberal’s defeat in October, party leader Philippe Couillard stepped down and resigned from politics, leaving speculation swirling about who would take his place at the helm.
Fortin said that he had been talking over a leadership bid with his family, but hadn’t made any commitments yet.
“We’ve been open about it, as an individual, as a family, that we’re considering the opportunity,” he said. “We’re weighing the pros and cons, and really, what I’m really taking the next little while to do is talk to party members, see what they feel is best for the party going forward.”