Matthew James Arthur Jeneroux is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
politician who has been elected to 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 ...
since the
2015 federal election. He is the Founder of Hi Dad Foundation, a mental health foundation focused on raising awareness about the importance of men’s mental health. He represents the electoral district of
Edmonton Riverbend
Edmonton Riverbend is a federal electoral district in Alberta.
Edmonton Riverbend was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came into effect upon the call o ...
as a member of the
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
caucus and is the Shadow Minister for Supply Chains. During the
43rd Canadian Parliament
The 43rd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 5, 2019, to August 15, 2021, with the membership of its Lower House, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2019 federal election held on October 21, ...
Jeneroux's private member bill ''An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (bereavement leave)'' (Bill C-220) was adopted with all party support to extend bereavement leave from 5 to 10 days and entitle employees already on compassionate care leave to also claim bereavement leave.
Prior to his election to the House of Commons, he served in the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...
representing the electoral district of
Edmonton-South West
Edmonton-South West is a provincial electoral district in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The district was created in the 2010 boundary redistribution and is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first pa ...
.
Jeneroux was a recipient of both the
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...
in 2012 and the
Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de platine de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal created to mark the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accessi ...
in 2022.
In both 2016 and in 2017, Jeneroux was named one of the “Top Up and Comer’s” in Canadian Parliament by ''
The Hill Times
''The Hill Times'' is a Canadian twice-weekly newspaper and daily news website, published in Ottawa, Ontario, which covers the Parliament of Canada, the federal government, and other federal political news. Founded in 1989 by Ross Dickson and Jim ...
''.
Early life and education
Jeneroux was born and raised in Edmonton and Sherwood Park, Alberta. He has a Bachelor of Arts from the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
. Prior to his work in provincial and then federal politics, Jeneroux worked for Health Canada and was an active community volunteer in Edmonton. He has two daughters: Molly and Lily and a son: Hugh.
Provincial politics
Jeneroux was first elected to the provincial assembly in the
2012 provincial election. In spring 2013, one year after being elected, he introduced a
private member's bill
A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
entitled Compassionate Care Leave Legislation (Bill 203). The bill has gone through
royal assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
and provides a leave of absence for an employee from their employer while taking care of a terminally ill family member.
In just three years, he had two of his motions pass unanimously in the legislature. First, to provide support for playgrounds when new schools for young families are built in the province of Alberta. He also urged the provincial government to conduct a review of the childcare policy in the province. He chaired the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices. He was defeated in the
2015 provincial election.
He also chaired the Capital Region Caucus, Youth Secretariat, and was a member of the Alberta Treasury Board committee. In addition, he chaired Results Based Budgeting for Environment and Resource Stewardship, chaired Results Based Budgeting for Wellness, a member of Public Accounts committee, co-chair of the Alberta Film Advisory Council and chair of the Government of Alberta's Youth Advisory Panel.
In 2018, Jeneroux was named the co-chair of the
United Conservative Party
The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party. ...
Annual General Meeting in
Red Deer, Alberta
Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education. ...
.
Federal politics
MP Jeneroux was voted as the "Best Constituency MP in Canada" by his colleagues, staff & media in the May 2017 Hill Times Publication.
Jeneroux is also the chair of the Edmonton Region Caucus.
Jeneroux has been a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, a Member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, vice-chair on the Standing Committee for Industry, a member of the Standing Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and currently serves as the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Health.
Health Shadow Minister
As a federal MP, Jeneroux is the
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
Shadow Minister for Health.
As
Health Canada
Health Canada (HC; french: Santé Canada, SC)Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary unit ...
Shadow Minister, Jeneroux has received praise for being the first to raise concerns in Parliament on the urgency of COVID-19 and lack of preparedness of the
Public Health Agency of Canada
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC; french: Agence de la santé publique du Canada, ASPC) is an agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness and response, and infectious and chronic diseas ...
. He's also been relentless in his pursuit to have Dr. Bruce Aylward from the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
appear before the Parliamentary committee responsible for investigating Canada's response to COVID-19. Even going as far as issuing a rare House of Commons summons to have him appear.
MP Jeneroux is also leading the charge on the changes to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) calling on the government to ensure Canadians have access to live saving medicines.
Jeneroux also recently announced his latest Private Members’ Bill being the federal expansion of Compassionate Care Leave. This builds off the previous work from Jeneroux's provincial Private Members’ Bill at the National level.
Infrastructure Shadow Minister
MP Jeneroux has served previously as the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Communities & Urban Affairs. As
Infrastructure Canada
Infrastructure Canada (INFC)''Infrastructure Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Office of Infrastructure of Canada (french: Bureau de l'infrastructure du Canada). is a department of the Government o ...
Shadow Minister, Jeneroux has also been one of the fiercest critics of Canada's Infrastructure Bank, going so far as calling for its cancellation. He did so publicly in an article published in the
Financial Post
The ''Financial Post'' was an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the publication was folded into the new ''National Post'',"Black says Post to merge with new paper". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 23, ...
where he calls it an outright failure of the Trudeau Liberals.
Innovation Shadow Minister
MP Jeneroux served in the role as Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Economic Development and as Shadow Minister of Science. Jeneroux was critical of the
Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development
The minister of innovation, science, and industry (french: ministre de l'Innovation, des Sciences et de l'Industrie) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the economic development and corporate ...
in the press in calling for his government's long-awaited Space Strategy.
Jeneroux also co-sponsored an initiative to encourage young girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields for an annual advocacy day on Parliament along with
FIRST Lego League
The ''FIRST'' LEGO League Challenge (formerly known as ''FIRST'' LEGO League) is an international competition organized by '' FIRST'' for elementary and middle school students (ages 9–14 in the United States and Canada, 9–16 elsewhere).
Each ...
which showcased skills in
LEGO
Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...
and pushed for more policies geared to encouraging young girls to pursue careers in STEM related fields.
Previously, under Rona Ambrose, he served in the Shadow Cabinet as the Official Opposition Critic for
Western Economic Diversification.
It was during this time that Jeneroux was named co-chair of the Alberta Jobs Task Force, a federal Conservative caucus initiative that will collect information from Albertans affected by the current economic situation and produce a report to be tabled in the House of Commons.
In this role, Jeneroux tabled a motion to promote the use of geothermal technology for the use in orphan and abandoned oil wells in western Canada. His motion, with support from the geothermal industry, called on the Government of Canada to examine ways to reduce the legislative burden on using geothermal technology within Canada.
In 2016, Jeneroux was voted as one of the Top 3 "Up and Comers" in Parliament by ''
The Hill Times
''The Hill Times'' is a Canadian twice-weekly newspaper and daily news website, published in Ottawa, Ontario, which covers the Parliament of Canada, the federal government, and other federal political news. Founded in 1989 by Ross Dickson and Jim ...
'' publication survey.
Mental Health Advocacy
In partnership with the
Mental Health Commission of Canada
The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is a national non-profit organization created by the Canadian government in 2007 in response to a senate committee tasked to study mental health, mental illness, and addiction. The committee appointed ...
&
Movember
Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. It is a portmanteau of the Australian-Engli ...
on Father's Day Jeneroux organizes an annual mental health advocacy event on Parliament Hill to support raising awareness for mental health concerns in young men and fathers. The event attracts stakeholders, Senators & Parliamentarians, and advocacy groups from across the country to champion ongoing awareness supports for young fathers.
In November 2018, Jeneroux teamed with Kids with Cancer Society in Edmonton to raise money for their organization by sponsoring a breakfast cereal fundraiser, Corn Pops & Cocoa Puffs, with his wife, Dr. Elizabeth Clement.
Electoral record
Federal
Provincial
References
External links
Matt Jeneroux*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeneroux, Matt
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs
Politicians from Edmonton
Living people
Conservative Party of Canada MPs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta
University of Alberta alumni
21st-century Canadian politicians
1981 births