Soraya Martínez FerradaBirth certificate of Soraya Marisel Martínez Ferrada, Civil Registry and Identification Service of Chile, 9 June 2022 (born August 28, 1972) is a Chilean-Canadian politician. She was elected as a Member of Parliament in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

to represent the federal riding Hochelaga in 2019. She served as

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) *Ministry of Touri ...

and

Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec The title Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec was accorded to full members of the Cabinet of Canada from the Kim Campbell, Campbell Ministry through the first months of Paul Martin gover ...

from 2023 to 2025, when she resigned to run for the leadership of

Ensemble Montréal Ensemble Montréal is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its elected officials are present in many districts in Montreal and represent the boroughs of Montréal-Nord (mayor, Christine Black), Saint-Léonard (mayor, Michel ...

ahead of the

2025 Montreal municipal election Municipal elections will be held in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada on November 2, 2025, as part of the 2025 Quebec municipal elections. Voters will elect 103 representatives in a First-past-the-post voting, first-past-the-post electoral sy ...

Early life

Martínez Ferrada was born on August 28, 1972 in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

, ,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, to Omar Martínez Prieto and Maritza Inés Ferrada Videla.

Career

Prior to her election in the House of Commons, she served as a city councillor for the Montreal City Council in the municipal electoral district of Saint-Michel as a member first of Union Montréal (2005 to 2007) and then of

Vision Montreal Vision Montreal () was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1994 and dissolved in April 2014. Between 2001 and 2013 it formed the official opposition on Montreal City Council. Origins Vision Montreal was e ...

from 2007 to 2009, when she lost to

Union Montreal Union Montreal () is an inactive municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the governing party in the city from 2001, when it won its first election under mayor Gérald Tremblay, until 2012. The party remained the largest singl ...

candidate (now

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; , PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has traditionally supported a form of Quebec federalist ideology with nuance ...

MNA for Viau),

Frantz Benjamin Frantz Benjamin is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2018 provincial election.Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

staffer. She gained her seat from the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

, by a tight margin over the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...

. When Martinez Ferrada was first elected in 2019, it was the first time the riding had been won by a Liberal since Jean-Claude Malépart had won it in 1988. The riding had been held by the New Democrat Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet since 2011, but Catheryn Roy-Goyette, representing the NDP, failed in 2019 and 2021 to retain the seat for that party. After her election to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, Martínez Ferrada was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity) In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church body, church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, ...

Marco Mendicino Marco Mendicino (; born July 28, 1973) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as the 16th Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister since 2025. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as the member of Parliament for Eglinton—Lawre ...

. In 2023, she was appointed Minister of Tourism and

. On February 6, 2025, Martínez Ferrada announced she would stand down at the

2025 Canadian federal election The 2025 Canadian federal election was held on April 28, 2025, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament. Governor General Mary Simon issued the writs of election on March 23, 2025, afte ...

. She resigned from the cabinet and as the Liberal Party national campaign co-chair to seek the leadership of the municipal party

, which if successful, would result in her running for mayor in the

. She was succeeded in her portfolios by heritage minister Pascale St-Onge. She was elected leader by acclamation on February 28.https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2144337/soraya-martinez-ferrada-cheffe-ensemble-montreal

Personal life

Martínez Ferrada moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1980, and lived in the East End of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Electoral record

Municipal

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez Ferrada, Soraya Living people 1972 births Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the 29th Canadian Ministry Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Montreal city councillors Women government ministers of Canada Women members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians Chilean emigrants to Canada Politicians from Santiago, Chile 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Women municipal councillors in Quebec