One year later:

Nycole Turmel remains active in the community

A year ago, Nycole Turmel lost her seat in Hull-Aylmer to Greg Fergus, as the Liberal wave of 2015 swept through most of Quebec. Since then, Turmel, 74,  remains active but is avoiding most politics.

“I’ve turned the page on politics, on every level. I'm doing politics differently now. Voters here returned to voting Liberal and I accept that,” Turmel told the Bulletin. “Obviously, I was disappointed. We worked hard to build something here from an economic and social perspective, but I respect the electors’ choice.”

Turmel is the only non-Liberal candidate to win an election in the Hull-Aylmer since the riding’s formation. She upset veteran MP Marcel Proulx in 2011.

During her four-year term, Turmel served as Opposition Whip in the New Democratic Party (NDP) shadow cabinet, and also as interim leader following Jack Layton’s sudden death.

“I’m still involved with the NDP, and I’m closely following the selection of a new party leader. I’m not sure if I will be involved in the leadership race, but I will certainly vote!”  she said. Last April, NDP delegates voted to oust Thomas Mulcair and to launch a leadership race.

Popular and omnipresent in her riding, Turmel’s defeat came as a surprise to many. During the early stages of the 2015 political campaign, Turmel was favoured to win. She started with a slight edge over Fergus in the polls, but her lead slowly receded as the campaign progressed. The former president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada ultimately lost to Fergus by a considerable margin.

Fergus won with over 51% of the ballots, while Turmel obtained about 31%. The NDP’s score in Hull-Aylmer in 2015 represented a 28% drop from their previous results in 2011. Since her loss, Turmel has kept busy with several associations and has picked up small contracts.

“After my defeat, I missed the intellectual work -- but my contracts and community work keep me alert. It was always my intention to stay involved,” she said.

In 2016, Turmel joined the board of directors of the Gîte Ami homeless shelter in Old Hull and last spring she joined the Boucher Forest Foundation as an administrator.