 She is the sister of former Conservative Senator Michael Fortier.In 1982, while still working as a teacher, she was elected as a member of the city council of the former city of Sillery (which was amalgamated into Quebec City, in 2002), and became mayor of Sillery in 1985.She ran for the National Assembly in 1994, winning by 25 votes, and was re-elected in 1998 by 157 votes and finally in 2003 by a margin of 2500 votes.