Arif Virani (born November 23, 1971) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the

minister of justice and attorney general of Canada The minister of justice and attorney general of Canada () is a dual-role portfolio in the Cabinet of Canada, Canadian Cabinet. The officeholder in the role of Minister of Justice () serves as the minister of the Crown responsible for the Depar ...

from 2023 to 2025. A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, Virani represented Parkdale—High Park in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 2015 to 2025. Prior to his appointment as Minister of Justice and Attorney General, he held a number of parliamentary secretary portfolios, including 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, ...

from 2015 to 2017, and to the

minister of Canadian heritage The Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture is the minister of the Crown who heads Department of Canadian Heritage, Canadian Heritage, the department of the Government of Canada responsible for Canadian culture, culture, Media in Canada, medi ...

(

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

) from 2017 to 2018, to the minister of justice and attorney general from 2018 to 2021, and to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development from 2021 to 2023. On February 10, 2025, Virani announced he would not be running for re-election during 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 ...

Background

Virani's roots are in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India although he was born in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

. Virani is a multilingual

Ismaili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

who came to Canada as a refugee from

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

after the expulsion of Indians from that country. Upon arriving in Canada in 1972, his family was taken in by the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

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 ...

. His family then became more permanently established in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Virani spent his childhood growing up in the

Flemingdon Park Flemingdon Park (locally Flemo) is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the city's North York district. It is part of the Don Valley East federal and provincial electoral districts, and Ward 26: Don Valley East (South) municipa ...

and Willowdale neighbourhoods.

Education

Virani graduated as a joint honours

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1994. He then graduated from the

University of Toronto Faculty of Law The University of Toronto Faculty of Law (U of T Law, UToronto Law) is the law school of the University of Toronto, located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Downtown Toronto. It is the top ranked common law facu ...

. Virani remained connected to the University of Toronto Faculty of Law following his graduation by remaining involved with its alumni committee.

Legal career

Virani began his legal career by articling for Fasken Martineau DuMoulin in 1999. Following this, he worked in

London, United Kingdom London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for a year with the support of the Harold G. Fox scholarship. This scholarship for recent graduates of the Bar Admission Course allows for a pupilage with leading barristers at the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...

in London. In 2003, he went on to work as a lawyer for the constitutional law branch of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. During his time with the Ontario constitutional law branch, he appeared in one case at the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

. He does not currently practise law, as he serves in his role as a Member of Parliament. He remains an L1 class licensed lawyer according to the

Law Society of Ontario The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; ) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LS ...

. This means he is "entitled to practise law in Ontario as a barrister and solicitor".

Personal life

Virani lives in

Roncesvalles Village Roncesvalles ( ), also known as or Roncesvalles Village or Roncy Village, is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, centred on Roncesvalles Avenue, a north–south street leading from the intersection of King Street (Toronto), K ...

in Toronto with his wife Suchita Jain, originally from

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, and their two sons.

Electoral record

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Virani, Arif Living people Liberal Party of Canada MPs Attorneys general of Canada Members of the 29th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Canadian Ismailis Canadian lawyers International Criminal Court prosecutors People from Old Toronto Politicians from Toronto Ugandan emigrants to Canada McGill University alumni University of Toronto Faculty of Law alumni Canadian people of Gujarati descent Refugees in Canada 1971 births Canadian people of Indian descent Khoja Ismailis Ugandan refugees 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada