Gallant took advantage of local opposition to Bill C-68, the Firearms Act, and benefited from backlash to Clouthier's support for gun control.
Serving in a riding with the largest military base and only national nuclear research facility in Canada, she has advocated for increased federal support for CFB Petawawa and the Chalk River Laboratories.
She was elected by colleagues to represent Canada as Chair of the Canadian-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Association.
[21][22] Shortly before the 2004 election, Gallant made headlines for her criticism of Bill C-250, an amendment to the Criminal Code, introduced by NDP MP Svend Robinson which would protect sexual orientation from hate propaganda.
Among other things, Gallant claimed that the bill would limit freedom of opinion, make sections of the Bible "hate literature" and provide protection to pedophiles.
Two families who received cards have sent letters to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, asking confirmation the MP won't use the collected personal information.
[24][25] In addition, two constituents named Mr. and Mrs. White, who were unsatisfied with the response they received from Gallant's office, contacted the Liberal MP for Ottawa-Vanier Mauril Bélanger.
[26] Because the use of the constituents' information did not meet the definition in Section 3(2) of the Member's Code for furthering private interests, the Office of the Ethics Commissioner discontinued their inquiry.
[26][27] Of around 60 major candidates in 15 Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec ridings, Gallant was the only one who didn't attending a meeting with the Ottawa Citizen editorial board.
"Ms. Gallant's decision to duck every difficult question from the media is nothing short of childish", commented Citizen columnist Kelly Egan.
[28] Gallant's comparison of recreational boaters in sheltered inland waters to mariners on the Atlantic hundreds of miles from land drew outrage from many who had lost family at sea.
[29] On March 28, 2011, after stating in a press release that she hoped for a clean election campaign,[30] Gallant compared Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff to Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
In March 2016, Gallant caused further outrage and controversy by using the death of Corporal Nathan Cirillo as a means to generate money for her campaign through an Easter ham lottery.
[35] In February 2021, Gallant was recorded on a Zoom meeting with a university student group, accusing Liberals of wanting to “normalize sexual activity with children”.
[36] During the so-called "Freedom Convoy", Gallant commented on her Facebook page to "Watch for Trudeau's gang to pull off false flag operations.