Thomas Fortier was a physician and political figure in Canada East

Canada East

Canada East was the eastern portion of the United Province of Canada. It consisted of the southern portion of the modern-day Canadian Province of Quebec, and was primarily a French-speaking region....

. He represented Nicolet

Nicolet (electoral district)

Nicolet was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1935.It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which preserved existing electoral districts in Lower Canada. It consisted of the County of Nicolet. From 1903...

 in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the...

 from 1848 to 1858.

He was born in Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

, the son of Joseph Fortier and Rose Laurent, and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec

Petit Séminaire de Québec

Le Petit Séminaire de Québec is a private French-language Roman Catholic secondary school in the Vieux-Québec area of Quebec City which was originally part of the Séminaire de Québec...

 and New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

. Fortier served in the militia during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, reaching the rank of lieutenant. He was licensed as a physician in Lower Canada

Lower Canada

The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

 in 1814 and practised in Saint-Grégoire

Saint-Grégoire, Quebec

Saint-Grégoire is a community of the city of Bécancour, Quebec. It is one of the major population centres within the city. Autoroute 55 intersects Autoroute 30 and Route 132 at Saint-Grégoire....

, Baie-du-Febvre

Baie-du-Febvre, Quebec

Baie-du-Febvre is a municipality in the Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 1,063...

 and Gentilly

Gentilly, Quebec

Gentilly is a community a couple minutes away from the city of Bécancour, Quebec. It is one of the major population centres within the city. Among other things, it is also home to Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station....

. He was married twice: first to Eliza Hanna in 1819 and then to Léocadie Grondin in 1834. Fortier served on the local school board and was vice-president in 1845. He wrote articles for the La Gazette in Trois-Rivières

Trois-Rivières, Quebec

Trois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers. It is situated in the Mauricie administrative region, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour...

, Le Populaire in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

and La Gazette in Quebec City. Fortier was a candidate in the 1858 election, but withdrew his candidacy before the election. He died at Gentilly at the age of 79.