Randy Paul Andrew Boissonnault PC MP (born July 14, 1970) is a Canadian politician who is the member of Parliament (MP) for Edmonton Centre. A member of the Liberal Party, he was initially elected to the House of Commons in the 2015 federal election and served until his defeat in 2019. He later went on to win back his seat in 2021. Boissonnault held several ministerial roles, including Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance from 2021 to 2023 and Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages from 2023 to 2024, when he resigned from Cabinet.[2][3] Notably, he was one of five openly gay MPs elected in 2015 and the first openly gay MP elected from Alberta.[4][5]
Randy Boissonnault | |
|---|---|
 Boissonnault in 2014 | |
| Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages | |
| In office July 26, 2023 – November 20, 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Carla Qualtrough |
| Succeeded by | Ginette Petitpas Taylor |
| Minister of Tourism Associate Minister of Finance | |
| In office October 26, 2021 – July 26, 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Mona Fortier (as Associate Minister of Finance) |
| Succeeded by | Soraya Martinez Ferrada |
| Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre | |
| Assumed office September 20, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | James Cumming |
| In office October 19, 2015 – October 21, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Laurie Hawn |
| Succeeded by | James Cumming |
| Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on LGBTQ2 Issues | |
| In office November 15, 2016 – September 11, 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Randy Paul Andrew Boissonnault[1] July 14, 1970 Morinville, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Alma mater | University of Alberta Corpus Christi College, Oxford |
| Website | Official website |
Early life
editBoissonnault was born in the Franco-Albertan town of Morinville, Alberta,[6] on July 14, 1970.
After graduating from the University of Alberta, Boissonault studied at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.[6] He subsequently worked as a lecturer at the University of Alberta's Campus Saint-Jean and as a journalist and political commentator for Radio-Canada and Les Affaires.[7]
Political career
editBoissonnault was elected in the 2015 election in the riding of Edmonton Centre, the first Liberal MP to win in the riding for almost a decade.[6]
Upon being sworn in as a MP, Boissonnault was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.[6]
On November 15, 2016, Boissonnault was named special advisor on LGBTQ2 issues to the Prime Minister.[8] The role involves advising Trudeau "on the development and co-ordination of the Government of Canada’s LGBTQ2 agenda" including protecting LGBT rights in Canada and addressing both present and historical discrimination.[8]
He was defeated in the 2019 election. On July 14, 2021, he was acclaimed as the Edmonton Centre Liberal candidate for the next Canadian federal election.[9] He won the election on September 20, 2021, defeating James Cumming, who had previously defeated him in 2019.
In Cabinet
editBoissonnault was appointed the minister of tourism and associate minister of finance in a Cabinet shuffle following the 2021 federal election.[10]
His last position in cabinet was serving as Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Official Languages following a cabinet shuffle in the summer of 2023. He is the first Franco-Albertan to be appointed to the position of Minister for Official Languages.
Boissonnault was part owner of Global Health Imports (GHI), a medical supply company. In January of 2024 GHI won a $28,300 contract from the Government of Canada.[11] The award of this contract was not publicly-reported for seven months, at least two months later than the requirement to disclose under Canada's access laws. [12] He received criticism for these dealings, which he blamed on a business partner in a social media statement. He is currently under a probe by the House ethics committee, and the afformentioned business partner is under police investigation.
Boissonnault received further criticism after his conflicting statements about his Indigenous heritage came to light. He claimed to be a "non-status adopted Cree" person, but was revealed to have Métis ancestry through his adoptive great-grandmother. He sat in the Liberal Indigenous caucus, which he described as “allyship”. He resigned from cabinet on November 20, 2024, days after the allegations resurfaced.[13]
Election results
edit| 2021 Canadian federal election: Edmonton Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Randy Boissonnault | 16,560 | 33.7 | +0.6 | $109,821.36 | |||
| Conservative | James Cumming | 15,945 | 32.4 | -9.05 | $81,069.18 | |||
| New Democratic | Heather MacKenzie | 14,171 | 28.8 | +8.16 | $50,495.97 | |||
| People's | Brock Crocker | 2,094 | 4.3 | +2.78 | $3,172.62 | |||
| Libertarian | Valerie Keefe | 266 | 0.5 | - | $0.00 | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Merryn Edwards | 112 | 0.2 | +0.05 | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 49,148 | – | – | $110,160.12 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 342 | |||||||
| Turnout | 49,490 | |||||||
| Eligible voters | 78,769 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.83 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[14] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Edmonton Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | James Cumming | 22,006 | 41.45 | +6.50 | none listed | |||
| Liberal | Randy Boissonnault | 17,524 | 33.01 | -4.18 | none listed | |||
| New Democratic | Katherine Swampy | 10,959 | 20.64 | -3.81 | $53,174.12 | |||
| Green | Grad Murray | 1,394 | 2.63 | +0.00 | none listed | |||
| People's | Paul Hookham | 805 | 1.52 | - | $5,550.42 | |||
| Rhinoceros | Donovan Eckstrom | 206 | 0.39 | -0.09 | $0.00 | |||
| Independent | Adil Pirbhai | 119 | 0.22 | $3,475.90 | ||||
| Marxist–Leninist | Peggy Morton | 79 | 0.15 | - | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 53,092 | 99.32 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 362 | 0.68 | +0.24 | |||||
| Turnout | 53,454 | 64.32 | -2.72 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 83,112 | |||||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +5.34 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[15][16][17] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Edmonton Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Randy Boissonnault | 19,902 | 37.19 | +13.46 | $126,839.87 | |||
| Conservative | James Cumming | 18,703 | 34.95 | -11.25 | $132,838.67 | |||
| New Democratic | Gil McGowan | 13,084 | 24.45 | -1.37 | $109,525.67 | |||
| Green | David Parker | 1,403 | 2.62 | -0.94 | $113.87 | |||
| Rhinoceros | Steven Stauffer | 257 | 0.48 | – | – | |||
| Independent | Kat Yaki | 163 | 0.30 | – | $2,097.91 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 53,512 | 99.56 | $211,594.41 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 234 | 0.44 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 53,746 | 67.04 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 80,173 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.35 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[18][19] | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ The Canadian Ministry (by order of precedence
- ^ "Boissonnault out of cabinet after shifting claims about Indigenous heritage". CBC News. November 20, 2024.
- ^ "Riding profile: Edmonton Centre". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
- ^ "Hedy Fry wins decisively as Liberals sweep Canada for majority" Archived January 13, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Daily Xtra, October 20, 2015.
- ^ "Edmonton's newest Liberal, Randy Boissonnault, got taste for politics at U of A and wanted to bring generational change to national politics". Edmonton Journal", October 21, 2015
- ^ a b c d Estabrooks, Trisha (May 2016). "A Force of Nature: From Morinville to Oxford to Ottawa, Randy Boissonnault hasn't let anything stand in the way of getting what he wants". Avenue Edmonton. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- ^ http://randyboissonnault.liberal.ca/biography/ Randy Boissonault - Biography - Liberal.ca
- ^ a b "Feds name gay MP as ‘LGBTQ2 issues’ advisor" Archived June 1, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Daily Xtra, November 15, 2016.
- ^ "Edmonton Centre Acclamation Notice | Liberal Party of Canada". liberal.ca. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ Curry, Bill; Kirkup, Kristy; Raman-Wilms, Menaka; Dickson, Janice (October 26, 2021). "Trudeau cabinet shuffle: Anita Anand moves to Defence, Steven Guilbeault to Environment, Mélanie Joly to Foreign Affairs". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
- ^ "Boissonnault's former company awarded federal contract in potential conflict of interest | Globalnews.ca".
- ^ "Why the contract won by Boissonnault's former company went undisclosed for months | Globalnews.ca".
- ^ Tasker, John Paul (November 20, 2024). "Boissonnault out of cabinet after shifting claims about Indigenous heritage". CBC News. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. February 29, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived August 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine