Riding profile: Will Ottawa–Vanier remain a Liberal stronghold?

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Quick Facts 

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A Liberal seat since its creation decades ago, it would be a stunning upset for Ottawa–Vanier voters to send anyone but a Grit candidate to the House of Commons as their federal representative.

And, for now at least, Liberal incumbent Mona Fortier is facing only a single challenger from the parties with seats in the House of Commons.

While the Conservatives have named businesswoman Heidi Jensen as their candidate in Ottawa-Vanier, none of the other major parties had announced as of Aug. 19 who would carry their banner in the riding. But they still have some time to do so as the Elections Canada nominations process doesn’t close until Aug. 30, so one can’t call it a two-candidate race just yet.

Fortier became the riding’s member of Parliament with a 2017 byelection win, following the death of its longtime Liberal MP, Mauril Bélanger, and defended her seat with 51 per cent of the vote in 2019.

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The runner-up NDP candidate took a 21-per-cent vote share, while the Conservative claimed 17 per cent and the Green candidate had 7.5 per cent.

There’s no one factor that can explain a stronghold like Ottawa-Vanier, but an active (and well-financed) Liberal riding association, a long Liberal history at the provincial level and locally-engaged members of Parliament have all been pointed to as reasons behind the Grits’ as-yet-unshakeable hold on the riding.

Ottawa–Vanier’s current boundaries run roughly along the Ottawa River in the north, the Rideau Canal in the west and Highway 417-174 in the south, plus an irregular section by the highway split that extends down past Innes Road and includes the Pineview neighbourhood, while the riding’s eastern edge follows Green’s Creek.

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The riding includes a diverse slate of neighbourhoods from Lowertown, the ByWard Market and Sandy Hill in the west to New Edinburgh, Rockcliffe Park, Vanier, Overbrook and other neighbourhoods further east, out to Beacon Hill. 

The Candidates

Liberal: Mona Fortier

Before entering politics, and becoming Ottawa-Vanier’s first female MP, Fortier was the director of communications at Collège La Cité and managed her own strategic communications consulting firm. The mom of three and uOttawa graduate has been recognized with awards for her community involvement and sat previously on the Montfort Hospital, Shaw Centre, and Provincial Advisory Committee on Francophone Affairs boards of directors.

After the 2019 election, Fortier was tapped to take on a new cabinet post in the Liberal minority government: minister of middle class prosperity and associate minister of finance.

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Fortier’s campaign Facebook page says the community needs “a trusted champion for a stronger middle class,” and Fortier will “never stop working hard to build a better future for families in Ottawa–Vanier.”

Website: https://www.facebook.com/EquipeTeamMona/

Conservative: Heidi Jensen

Tory candidate Heidi Jensen is the founder of a trademark consulting and protection firm — work that offers her “a unique perspective on the business climate in Canada,” including to her campaign website, which says she “understands the role that small businesses play in strong communities and as drivers of the Canadian economy.”

Jensen, who speaks both English and French, is a mother of three boys and a long-time volunteer with minor hockey associations. She has pledged to “work to ensure policy makers use the insight of vulnerable Canadians to develop effective social programs” and cites a desire to build meaningful relationships with Indigenous Peoples, particularly around issues involving land title, as part of her motivation to enter public life.

Website: https://votejensen.ca