Soraya Martínez Ferrada
[Birth 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
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:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
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* 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
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 ...
, which if successful, would result in her running for mayor in 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 ...
. 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