Carla Dawn Qualtrough (; born October 15, 1971) is a Canadian politician and former

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

swimmer who served as the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity from July 2023 to December 2024. 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 ...

, Qualtrough represented the riding of

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

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. She previously served as the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion from 2019 to 2023, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility from 2017 to 2019, and the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities from 2015 to 2017. Qualtrough was also the

Receiver General for Canada The receiver general for Canada () is responsible for making payments to the Government of Canada each fiscal year, accepting payments from financial institutions and preparing the Public Accounts of Canada, containing annual audited financial st ...

from 2017 to 2019.

Early life and education

Qualtrough was born in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Alberta, on October 15, 1971, to parents Patricia and Harry Qualtrough, and was raised in Langley, British Columbia. Qualtrough has been

visually impaired Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

since birth and only sees 10 percent with her glasses on. She graduated from

Brookswood Secondary School Brookswood Secondary School is located in the community of Brookswood in Langley, British Columbia. Among other resources, the school has an automechanics workshop, two gymnasiums, a theatre, a dark room, and a television studio. The school als ...

and studied political science at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

before earning a law degree from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

in 1997. Her parents separated when she was a teenager and her father died in 2007.

Paralympic career

Qualtrough's visual impairment qualified her to compete in the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

. She earned three bronze medals in swimming at the

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

and

1992 Summer Paralympics The 1992 Summer Paralympics (; ) were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. In addition, the 1992 Paralympic Games for Persons with mental handicap were held immediately after the regular Paralymp ...

, as well as four world championship medals for Team Canada. During the Paralympics, she swam in the 4x100 medley relay and 4x100 freestyle relay.

Legal career

After earning her law degree, Qualtrough served on the governing board of the Americas Paralympic Committee. She also served as president of the

Canadian Paralympic Committee The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC; French: ''Comité paralympique canadien''), also known as Team Canada, is the private, non-profit organization representing Canadian Paralympic athletes in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and ...

from 2006 to 2011. During this time, she also directed Sport Initiatives for 2010 Legacies Now and Chaired the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, leading to her election as one of Canada's Most Influential Women in Sport of 2009. As a lawyer, Qualtrough primarily focused on human rights matters. She served as counsel to the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal and the

Canadian Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the Government of Canada. It is empowered under the '' Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the ...

, and prior to her election to the House of Commons, she was the vice-chair of British Columbia's Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal. In recognition of her work, she was a recipient of the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

in 2012. During the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

, she was the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

's (IPC) legal officer and later received the IPCs International Women's Day Recognition in 2016. In 2021, Qualtrough became part of the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame.

Political career

Qualtrough was first elected as Member of Parliament for Delta on October 19, 2015. She was the first Paralympic athlete to be elected to Canada's Parliament. On November 4, 2015, she was named minister of sport and persons with disabilities in the

29th Canadian Ministry The Twenty-Ninth Canadian Ministry was the Cabinet of Canada, Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that began governing Canada shortly before the opening of the 42nd Parliament of Canada, 42nd Parliament. ...

, headed by

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

. During her tenure, Qualtrough was inducted into the

's Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2017. In a cabinet shuffle triggered by the resignation of

Judy Foote Judy May Foote ( Crowley; born June 23, 1952) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 14th lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador from 2018 to 2023. She was the first woman to hold the position. Prior to her appointment as ...

, Qualtrough succeeded Foote as minister of public services and procurement on August 28, 2017; Kent Hehr then took over as minister of sport and persons with disabilities. After the cabinet shuffle on July 18, 2018, Qualtrough retained her ministerial position but gained the added portfolio of accessibility, styled as "minister of public services and procurement and accessibility". After Jane Philpott's resignation from cabinet on March 5, 2019, Qualtrough was appointed Acting President of the Treasury Board, filling the role until the appointment of

Joyce Murray Joyce Catherine Murray (born July 11, 1954) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Vancouver Quadra in the House of Commons as a member of the Liberal Party from 2008 until 2025. She was re-elected in the 41st, 42nd, 43rd, ...

on March 18. The November 20, 2019, cabinet shuffle had Qualtrough become minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion, building on her work in the accessibility portfolio. Qualtrough returned to the sport portfolio in the July 26, 2023, cabinet shuffle, replacing Pascale St-Onge as minister of sport and physical activity. On 17 October 2024, she announced her retirement 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 left Cabinet in the December 20, 2024, cabinet shuffle. She stood down at the

and was succeeded by fellow Liberal candidate Jill McKnight.

Personal life

Qualtrough is married to the former secretary-general of the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation, Eron Main, and they have four children together.

Electoral record

References

External links

Official Website

Mandate letter from Prime Minister
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qualtrough, Carla 1971 births Living people 21st-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Blind lawyers Blind politicians Canadian blind people Canadian Disability Hall of Fame Canadian female freestyle swimmers Canadian lawyers with disabilities Canadian Paralympic Committee presidents Canadian politicians with disabilities Canadian sportsperson-politicians Liberal Party of Canada MPs Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Members of the 29th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Ministers of labour of Canada Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic swimmers for Canada People from Delta, British Columbia Politicians from Calgary Sportspeople with visual impairment Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Swimmers from Calgary University of Ottawa alumni University of Victoria alumni University of Victoria Faculty of Law alumni Women in British Columbia politics Women government ministers of Canada Women members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century Canadian sportswomen