Fortier was a Progressive Conservative candidate in the Montreal-area riding of Laval West during the 2000 federal election placing fourth.

Fortier was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Public Works on 6 February 2006, the day Stephen Harper's minority government took office.

His Parliamentary Secretaries, James Moore at Public Works and Gerald Keddy at International Trade, answered questions on his behalf.

[3] Jeffrey Simpson of The Globe and Mail wrote that "with breathtaking insouciance, Prime Minister Stephen Harper jettisoned, or at least delayed, his promise to only elect senators".

[4][permanent dead link‍] However, the Toronto Star's Chantal Hébert defended the appointments of Fortier and Emerson to Cabinet, arguing that the problem is with the first-past-the-post system which allows entire parts of the country (such as large cities) to be unrepresented in government.

Michael Fortier was loudly booed at the opening ceremonies of the 2006 World Outgames, an LGBT sporting event and cultural festival held in Montreal.

Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay, who was greeted with sustained applause, intervened (unsuccessfully) to urge the crowd to listen "with respect" to the representative of the Canadian government.

Cote had to resign because of a perceived conflict of interest, since Public Works was handling the building contracts Couillard was bidding on, Fortier said.

Couillard sparked the resignation of foreign minister Maxime Bernier in May 2008 when she went public with the fact her former paramour had forgotten classified NATO briefing documents at her Montreal home for more than a month.

[5] While he chose not to run in an earlier by-election, Fortier was a candidate for the riding of Vaudreuil-Soulanges in the 2008 federal election, in fulfilment of his promise made at the time of his 2006 Senate appointment.

[1] On election night, he was soundly defeated by popular Bloc Québécois incumbent Meili Faille,[7] who captured 41.34% of the vote compared to Fortier's 23.69%.