Jennifer Kay French (born 1978) is a politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. She is a New Democratic member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

who was elected in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. She represents the riding of

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

Background

French was born in Winchester, Ontario, near Ottawa. She grew up in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

after moving there with her family. She returned to Canada to attend Queen's University where she earned a bachelor's degree in biology. She spent three years teaching in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

before returning to earn a master's degree in science with a teaching specialty. She moved to

where she spent eight years teaching elementary school.

Politics

French ran in the 2014 provincial election as the New Democratic candidate in the riding of

. She defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent

Jerry Ouellette Jerry J. Ouellette (born January 30, 1959) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2014, representing the riding of Oshawa. He served in the cabinet in t ...

by 7,695 votes. She was the party's critic for pension issues, switched to critic for Community Safety and Correctional Services on March 23, 2015, and then to critic of Youth Engagement and critic of Citizenship and Immigration as of December 2, 2016. She was reelected in the 2018 election.

Electoral record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:French, Jennifer 1978 births Living people Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs People from Oshawa Women MPPs in Ontario 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Queen's University at Kingston alumni 21st-century Canadian educators Canadian schoolteachers