Incumbent Fortier facing fierce fight in Ottawa-Vanier
Candidate and party’s record under fire in riding held by the Liberals since 1936
Ottawa-Vanier might be a Liberal stronghold, but candidates from the other major parties aren’t letting incumbent Mona Fortier take Monday’s election without a fight.
At Wednesday’s all-candidates’ meeting Fortier faced critiques of her own record, and the decades of Liberal representation that came before her.
“Ottawa—Vanier has been a Liberal riding since 1936. With that faithfulness to the Liberal party, Ottawa—Vanier should be the most prosperous riding, bar none, across Canada. However, it’s one of the most neglected,” said Conservative candidate Joel Bernard.
He outlined his own priorities for the riding: respect by all levels of government, making sure “criminals get off the streets,” and bringing “real jobs, not minimum-wage jobs” to the riding.
Fortier, the Liberal incumbent, took over after the death of longtime riding MP Mauril Bélanger. She comfortably won the 2017 byelection in Ottawa—Vanier with 51 per cent of the vote, compared with the NDP candidate’s 29 per cent and the Conservative candidate’s 15 per cent.
While other candidates focused on the challenges in the riding, Fortier maintained a positive tone.
“Ottawa—Vanier is strong because of its diversity, which is representative of the Canadian social fabric,” she said. “I will focus on making life more affordable for residents, protect our environment, and help local businesses prosper.”
Stéphanie Mercier, a law student with a nursing background, is running for the NDP.
“I’m really happy that Ms. Fortier mentioned that she created so many jobs, because most of my friends are working two to make ends meet,” she said at one point, to huge applause.
Mercier drew on her own experience in nursing and harm-reduction work in Ottawa—Vanier.
“I want to fight for you, and for our community. And I believe that with different choices, we can get better results,” she said.
Green candidate Oriana Ngabirano was also a strong contributor to the debate, scoring applause with many of her points.
“If someone doesn’t have food on the table, they really don’t care about plastic or paper, or if their straw is plastic or metal,” she said. “If we want to protect the environment ... we need also to protect the people. And the people in Ottawa— Vanier need a guaranteed livable income.”
Independent candidate Joel Altman took Fortier to task over
Ottawa–Vanier should be the most prosperous riding, bar none, across Canada. However, it’s one of the most neglected.
what he described as a failure to differentiate herself from her party.
“I’m looking at our incumbent’s website, reading the literature, and all I see is Liberal party, and nothing about the actual incumbent. And I find that a little bit concerning,” he said, noting that other MPs lay out their own accomplishments for constituents to look at.
“I feel in Ottawa—Vanier we’re electing the Liberal party, not a Liberal individual.”
In her closing comments, after a night of tough questions, Fortier presented her case for her re-election.
“I’m always searching for the right balance between prosperity and social justice,” she said. “I’m also a strong advocate for our linguistic duality.”
People’s Party candidate Paul Durst, and Marxist-Leninist candidate Christian Legeais also participated in the meeting.