[1] His career as a dancer started in 1973 with Groupe Nouvelle Aire in Montreal and trained choreographers Edouard Lock, Ginette Laurin, and Daniel Léveillé.

He used this company to showcase his choreography, including Parlez-moi donc du cul de mon enfance (1979) and Violence (1980).

[2] His next creations were Pow !…t’es mort (1982), Ça ne saigne jamais… (1983), Chaleurs (1985), Le Mythe décisif (1987) and Désert (1989).

Gradually, Fortier's works slipped from the "narrative into the abstract" leaving "the way open to multiple interpretations, giving the viewer free to his feelings".

Later that year he created La Part des anges, a quartet with himself, Peggy Baker, Robert Meiller and Gioconda Barbuto that explored the chemistry that connects and disconnects feelings between people.

[1] In 1998 Fortier retired from the Université du Québec à Montréal to devote more time to teaching and choreographing.

In 2012 he received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement[6] and an appointment to the Order of Canada.

In 2013, Fortier joined the board of directors of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation as co-chair.