The Strength in Democracy party was formed on October 21, 2014, by
Jean-François Fortin, a member of the
Bloc Québécois, and
Repentigny MP
Jean-François Larose, a member of the
New Democratic Party. The two MPs stated that the four major federal parties in Quebec (the
Conservatives,
New Democratic Party (NDP),
Liberals, and
Bloc Québécois) were focused on power and politics over representing their constituents. Fortin, who had run for the leadership of the Bloc Québécois (BQ)
in 2011, had left the BQ in August 2014 to sit as an
independent MP citing disapproval of new BQ leader
Mario Beaulieu. The party announced that it would run candidates outside of Quebec in the
2015 federal election under the name "Strength in Democracy", and its first candidate, Toban Leckie, was announced in
Peterborough—Kawartha. Independent MP
Manon Perreault, who had been expelled from the New Democratic Party after being convicted for mischief, was announced as the Strength in Democracy candidate in
Montcalm on August 12, 2015, where she sought re-election. ==Electoral performance==