Jenna Sudds

Jenna Sudds PC MP (born February 8, 1979)[4][5] is a Canadian politician who presently serves as the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, as well as the Member of Parliament for Kanata—Carleton in the House of Commons of Canada.

Jenna Sudds
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Assumed office
July 26, 2023[1]
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byKarina Gould
Member of Parliament
for Kanata—Carleton
Assumed office
September 20, 2021
Preceded byKaren McCrimmon
Deputy Mayor of Ottawa
In office
December 9, 2020  September 20, 2021
Serving with Laura Dudas and George Darouze
MayorJim Watson
Preceded byMatthew Luloff
Succeeded byVacant
Ottawa City Councillor
for Kanata North (Ward 4)
In office
December 1, 2018  September 20, 2021
Preceded byMarianne Wilkinson
Succeeded byCathy Curry (appointed)
Personal details
Born (1979-02-08) February 8, 1979
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal
SpouseTim[2]
Residence(s)Whitemarsh Crescent, rural Kanata (2018)[3]

Prior to becoming Minister, she served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Women, Gender Equality, and Youth. A member of the Liberal Party, she was elected in the 2021 Canadian federal election.

Previously, she served as Deputy Mayor of Ottawa and member of the Ottawa City Council for Kanata North (Ward 4).[6] Sudds was elected to Ottawa City Council on October 22, 2018, and took office on December 1, 2018.

Career

Sudds grew up in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Sudds attended Brock University in St. Catharines and moved to the National Capital Region in 2001 to complete her master's degree in economics at Carleton University.[7] Sudds worked as an economist in the federal government for twelve years before becoming the inaugural President and executive director of the Kanata North Business Association, after being appointed to the role by a hiring committee that consisted of her predecessor on Council, Marianne Wilkinson.[8] From November 2017 to November 2018, Sudds was the inaugural executive director at the CIO Strategy Council, a national technology council.[9] In March 2018, she announced her decision to run for Ottawa City Council, Kanata North.

Sudds has been a longtime volunteer with the Kanata Food Cupboard and the Ottawa Network for Education. She has received a Special Recognition Award from the Kanata Food Cupboard for her leadership and service to those in need in the community. She received a Forty Under 40 Award from the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce in 2015, and was named one of Development Counsellors International's Top 40 under 40 working in economic development in 2017.[10]

Politics

Sudds was elected as a Liberal in Kanata—Carleton in the 2021 Canadian federal election, replacing outgoing Liberal Member of Parliament Karen McCrimmon.[11]

44th Parliament

Sudds was appointed to serve as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Women, Gender Equality, and Youth by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on December 3, 2021.[12] Sudds sits on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women as a voting member.[13]

Throughout her tenure, Sudds has seconded and voted in favour of legislation which sought to advance women's rights, affordable housing, and worker's rights.[14] She supported legislation to ban the practice of conversion therapy, which passed the House of Commons in a unanimous vote.[15] She is a strong supporter of economic actions to strengthen Canada's technology sector, particularly semiconductor fabrication and critical mineral development.[16]

In foreign policy, she has supported sanctions against Russian political leaders and oligarchs in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and sanctions against Iran following the Mahsa Amini protests.[17]

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sudds was sanctioned by government of the Russian Federation after the Canadian government sanctioned many Russian officials close to Vladimir Putin over the Ukrainian invasion.[18]

Awards

Electoral record

2021 Canadian federal election

2021 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalJenna Sudds26,39441.8-1.5
ConservativeJennifer McAndrew24,37338.6+2.1
New DemocraticMelissa Coenraad8,82214.0+1.5
People'sScott Miller1,8582.9+1.5
GreenJennifer Purdy1,7092.7-3.9
Total valid votes 63,156
Total rejected ballots 372
Turnout 63,52873.52
Eligible voters 86,404
Liberal hold Swing -1.8
Source: Elections Canada[21]

2018 Ottawa municipal election

Council candidate Vote  %
    Jenna Sudds5,29846.68
    Matt Muirhead3,63432.02
    David Gourlay2,33520.57
    Lorne Neufeldt560.49
    Philip Bloedow270.24

Personal life

Sudds is married and has three daughters.[2]

References

  1. Tunney, Catharine (26 July 2023). "Trudeau overhauls his cabinet, drops 7 ministers and shuffles most portfolios". CBC News. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  2. "Meet Jenna Sudds". Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  3. "Jenna Sudds wants city hall to know that Kanata North's tech sector is a big deal". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  4. @JimWatsonOttawa (8 Feb 2021). "Happy birthday to Kanata North councillor and Deputy Mayor @JennaSudds" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  5. "Filling Marianne Wilkinson's shoes in Kanata North". CBC Ottawa. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  6. Bagnall, James; Endemann, Erica (October 22, 2018). "Jenna Sudds scores decisive win in Kanata North". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  7. Kanata North BIA Announces its first Executive Director, July 8, 2013, https://www.kanatanorthbia.ca/kanata-north-bia-announces-its-first-executive-director/
  8. KNBIA’s Jenna Sudds spearheads new national CIO strategy council, Ottawa Business Journal, October 20, 2017, https://obj.ca/article/knbias-jenna-sudds-spearheads-new-national-cio-strategy-council
  9. Former Kanata North BIA director Jenna Sudds to run for city council, Ottawa Business Journal, March 5, 2018, https://obj.ca/article/former-kanata-north-bia-director-jenna-sudds-run-city-council
  10. "Parliamentary Secretaries". Prime Minister of Canada, December 3, 2021.
  11. Natalie Harvey and Andrew Duffy, "Riding results: Liberal Jenna Sudds wins Kanata-Carleton". Ottawa Citizen, September 21, 2021.
  12. "Parliamentary Secretaries". Prime Minister of Canada, December 3, 2021.
  13. "Committee Members, FEWO"
  14. "Votes - Jenna Sudds - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  15. Boisvert, Nick (December 1, 2021). "MPs embrace after bill to ban conversion therapy passes unanimously in House". CBC News.
  16. Sudds, Jenna (November 15, 2022). "Canada will need to harness #Kanata's innovation and leadership to propel our country & economy forward. We can become a world leader in semiconductors, critical minerals & the clean, green technology of the future". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  17. Canada, Global Affairs (2022-12-09). "Canada imposes new sanctions on Russian, Iranian and Myanmar regimes". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  18. The Canadian Press, "Trudeau and almost every Canadian MP banned from Russia". National Post, March 15, 2022.
  19. Unveiling Our 2015 Forty Under 40 Recipients, The Voice Blog, April 24, 2015, https://thevoice.ottawachamber.ca/2015/04/24/unveiling-our-2015-forty-under-40-recipients/
  20. Kanata’s Jenna Sudds named among top 40 Under 40, InsideHalton.com, February 2, 2017, https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/7099945-kanata-s-jenna-sudds-named-among-top-40-under-40/
  21. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
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