François-Philippe Champagne (; born June 25, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has been Minister of Finance since March 14, 2025. A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, Champagne was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in the 2015 election, serving as the member of Parliament (MP) for Saint-Maurice—Champlain. Champagne joined Cabinet in 2017 when

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Justin Trudeau named him to be the minister of international trade. He then served as the minister of infrastructure and communities from 2018 to 2019 before becoming the

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

. In 2021, he became minister of innovation science and industry. Prime Minister

Mark Carney Mark Joseph Carney (born March 16, 1965) is a Canadian politician and economist who has served as the 24th and current Prime Minister of Canada, prime minister of Canada since 2025. He has served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, lead ...

selected Champagne to be finance minister after taking office in 2025.

Early life

Champagne was born in Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada on June 25, 1970, and raised in

Shawinigan Shawinigan (; ) is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,620 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. He studied law at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

and Case Western Reserve University School of Law. After several years working as a senior attorney for Elsag Bailey Process Automation, he joined

ABB Group ABB Group is a Swedish-Swiss multinational electrical engineering corporation. Incorporated in Switzerland as ABB Ltd., and headquartered in Zurich, it is dual-listed on the Nasdaq Nordic exchange in Stockholm, Sweden, and the SIX Swiss Exch ...

in 1999, eventually rising to group vice president and senior counsel. In 2008, he joined Amec PLC as a strategic development director, and was designated a "young global leader" by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

. Following his return to Canada, he became involved in a variety of business and non-profit ventures.

Political career

In an interview with ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 2009, Champagne expressed his desire to eventually return to Canada and enter politics, citing fellow Shawinigan resident

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

as an inspiration. Ahead of the

2015 Canadian federal election The 2015 Canadian federal election was held on October 19, 2015, to elect the 338 members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons of the 42nd Canadian Parliament, 42nd Parliament of Canada. In accordance with the Fixed election date ...

, he was nominated as the Liberal candidate in Saint-Maurice—Champlain, a riding represented at the time by New Democratic-turned-Liberal MP Lise St-Denis, and was elected to Parliament on October 19, 2015. After his election in 2015, Champagne was appointed as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Finance until 2017, when he was appointed Minister of International Trade.

Minister of Infrastructure and Communities (2018–2019)

In 2018, Champagne was named Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and oversaw the federal government’s $187 billion infrastructure investment plan.

Minister of Foreign Affairs (2019–2021)

In November 2019, Champagne became

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

, taking the helm of Trudeau's foreign policy. In June 2020, it was reported that Champagne had two more mortgages with the state-owned

Bank of China The Bank of China (BOC; ; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Banco da China'') is a state-owned Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Beijing, Beijing, China. It is one of ...

, raising questions of potential vulnerability to foreign influence. Champagne welcomed Trump's peace agreement between

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

as a positive and historic step toward a peaceful and secure Middle East, adding Canada was gladdened by suspension of Israel's plans to annex parts of the occupied

Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (2021–2025)

In the 2021 Canadian cabinet shuffle, Champagne was moved out of the foreign affairs portfolio, and became Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. Champagne was characterized by ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

'' in 2023 as "Trudeau's pitchman" for a global audience, tasked with luring would-be foreign investment in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to instead invest in Canada. His efforts were credited with enticing

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

to construct a gigafactory in Canada rather than the U.S., a first for the company outside of Europe. In 2024, he suggested that the

Competition Bureau The Competition Bureau () is the independent law enforcement agency in charge of regulating competition in Canada, responsible for ensuring that markets operate in a competitive manner. Headed by the Commissioner of Competition, the agency is ...

should scrutinize

Big Tech Big Tech, also referred to as the Tech Giants or Tech Titans, is a collective term for the largest and most influential technology companies in the world. The label draws a parallel to similar classifications in other industries, such as "Big Oi ...

companies' activities in the

payment A payment is the tender of something of value, such as money or its equivalent, by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation or philanthropy desir ...

s sector. Champagne highlighted

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

-related concerns associated with

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

and

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

's digital wallet services. Champagne was widely considered to be a possible candidate in the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, following the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He later announced that he would not enter the leadership race to focus on defending Canadians from the threat of tariffs of the second Trump administration. On January 16, he endorsed former Bank of Canada governor

Minister of Finance (2025–present)

Champagne was appointed minister of finance on March 14, 2025 upon the swearing-in of Mark Carney's cabinet. Following the 2025 federal election, he was additionally given the responsibility of National Revenue.

Personal life

Champagne is trilingual, speaking English, French and Italian.

Electoral record

References

Notes

External links

*
Bio & mandate from the Prime Minister

François-Philippe Champagne in the Global Affairs Canada Official Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Champagne, Francois-Philippe Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the 29th Canadian Ministry Members of the 30th Canadian Ministry Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs People from Longueuil People from Shawinigan Politicians from Mauricie Université de Montréal alumni Case Western Reserve University alumni Lawyers in Quebec 1970 births Ministers of finance of Canada Ministers of foreign affairs of Canada 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Innovation, science and industry ministers of Canada