Jenna Sudds (born February 8, 1979) is a Canadian politician who presently serves as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Women, Gender Equality, and Youth, as well as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Kanata—Carleton Kanata—Carleton is a federal electoral district in Ottawa, Ontario. Kanata—Carleton was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came into effect upon the ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

. A member of the Liberal Party, she was elected in the

2021 Canadian federal election The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The writs of election were issued by Governor General Mary Simon on August 15, 2021, when Prime Minist ...

. Previously, she served as Deputy Mayor of Ottawa and member of the

Ottawa City Council The Ottawa City Council (french: Conseil municipal d'Ottawa) is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 24 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each councillor represents war ...

for Kanata North (Ward 4). 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 Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

. Sudds attended Brock University in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

and moved to the

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

in 2001 to complete her master's degree in economics at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

. 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. From November 2017 to November 2018, Sudds was the inaugural executive director at the CIO Strategy Council, a national technology council. 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.

Politics

Sudds was elected as a Liberal in

in the

, replacing outgoing Liberal Member of Parliament

Karen McCrimmon Karen A. McCrimmon (born 1959) is a Canadian Forces veteran, mediator, and politician who was elected Member of Parliament for Kanata—Carleton in the 2015 Canadian federal election. After a 31-year military career, McCrimmon retired as a lie ...

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 Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

on December 3, 2021. Sudds sits on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women as a voting member. Throughout her tenure, Sudds has seconded, voted in favour of, and passed legislation advancing

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

, affordable housing, and worker's rights. She supported legislation to ban the practice of

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...

, which passed the House of Commons in a unanimous vote. She has pushed for economic reforms to strengthen Canada's technology sector, particularly

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...

fabrication and critical mineral development. In foreign policy, she has supported sanctions against Russian political leaders and oligarchs in response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, and sanctions against Iran following the Mahsa Amini protests. She concurred with a report by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development which called for dialogue between "the Tibetan people and the government of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

with a view to enabling

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

to exercise genuine autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution." After the

, Sudds was sanctioned by government of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

after the Canadian government sanctioned many Russian officials close to Vladimir Putin over the Ukrainian invasion.

Awards

*Kanata North Citizen of the Year (2012-2013) *Forty Under 40 Award (2015) from the Ottawa Business Journal and

Ottawa Board of Trade The Ottawa Board of Trade was founded on June 10, 1857 by a special Act of the Parliament of the Province of Canada and continued after Canadian Confederation via the Boards of Trade Act. The organization is the outcome of the 2018 merger of the f ...

*40 Under 40 International Economic Development Professional Award (2016)

Electoral record

2021 Canadian federal election The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The writs of election were issued by Governor General Mary Simon on August 15, 2021, when Prime Minist ...

2018 Ottawa municipal election The 2018 Ottawa municipal election was a municipal election that was held on October 22, 2018, to elect the mayor of Ottawa, Ottawa City Council and the Ottawa-Carleton Public and Catholic School Boards. The election was held on the same day as ...

Personal life

Sudds has three daughters.

References

External links

Official websiteJenna Sudds – Parliament of Canada Voting Record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudds, Jenna Ottawa city councillors Living people People from Niagara Falls, Ontario People from Oakville, Ontario Brock University alumni 1979 births Women municipal councillors in Canada Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Women in Ontario politics 21st-century Canadian women politicians