Mona Fortier wins Liberal nomination to run in Ottawa-Vanier byelection
Seat left open after the death of Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger
Mona Fortier will represent the Liberal Party in an upcoming byelection in Ottawa-Vanier, the seat left vacant by the death of Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger from ALS.
After a long day of counting, the local businesswoman was announced the winner Sunday beating out seven other candidates including Khatera Akbari, Jean Claude Dubuisson, Eric Khaiat, Francis Leblanc, Ainsley Malhotra, Nicolas Moyer and Veronique Soucy.
The party said "several thousand" registered Liberals came out for the vote.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has until Feb. 19 to call the date of the byelection.
If Fortier goes on to win the byelection, she'd be the first woman to represent the Liberal stronghold since the boundary was drawn in 1935.
The NDP will be represented by University of Ottawa law professor Emilie Taman, who ran unsuccessfully in the riding during the 2015 election.
The Conservative Party has yet to name a candidate.
Residents went red in a recent provincial byelection, choosing University of Ottawa's law dean Nathalie Des Rosiers as their new MPP.