Jenna Sudds (born February 8, 1979) is a Canadian politician who served as the

Minister of Families, Children and Social Development The minister of families, children and social development () is a minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada. The associated department is Employment and Social Development Canada. On March 14, 2025 the position was abolished, its responsib ...

, from 2023 to 2025. She is the Member of Parliament for Kanata 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 ...

. Prior to becoming Minister, she served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Women, Gender Equality, and Youth. 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 ...

, she was elected in the

2021 Canadian federal election The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The Writ of election, writs of election were issued by Governor General of ...

. Previously, she served as Deputy Mayor of Ottawa and member of the

Ottawa City Council Ottawa City Council () is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 24 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each councillor represents wards throughout the city. Council member ...

for

Kanata North Kanata North Ward or Ward 4 (French: ''Quartier Kanata-Nord'') is a ward (politics), ward in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The ward was created in 2006 when its predecessor, Kanata Ward, split in two main parts. The original Kanata Ward cove ...

(Ward 4). Sudds was elected to Ottawa City Council on October 22, 2018, and took office on December 1, 2018.

Career

Sudds grew up in

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada, adjacent to, and named after, Niagara Falls. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, the city had a population of 94,415. The city is located on the Niagara Peninsula along the western bank of the ...

. Sudds attended

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

and moved to the National Capital Region in 2001 to complete her master's degree in economics at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

. Sudds worked as an economist in the federal government for twelve years before becoming the inaugural President and executive director of the Kanata North Business Association, after being appointed to the role by a hiring committee that consisted of her predecessor on Council, Marianne Wilkinson. From November 2017 to November 2018, Sudds was the inaugural executive director at the CIO Strategy Council, a national technology council. In March 2018, she announced her decision to run for Ottawa City Council, Kanata North. In December 2020, she was appointed to serve as Deputy Mayor of Ottawa. Sudds has been a longtime volunteer with the Kanata Food Cupboard and the Ottawa Network for Education. She has received a Special Recognition Award from the Kanata Food Cupboard for her leadership and service to those in need in the community. She received a Forty Under 40 Award from the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce in 2015, and was named one of Development Counsellors International's Top 40 under 40 working in economic development in 2017. On March 14th, Ottawa MP Jenna Sudds was shuffled out of cabinet. The removal of Sudds, who was minister of Families, Children and Social Development, came the morning of March 14 as new Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a leaner cabinet with nearly half the number of ministers.

Politics

Sudds was elected as a Liberal in Kanata—Carleton in the

, replacing outgoing Liberal Member of Parliament

Karen McCrimmon Karen A. McCrimmon (née Martin; born 1959) is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, mediator, and politician. She is the member of provincial parliament (MPP) for Kanata—Carleton and was elected in a by-election on July 27, 2023 as a member of ...

44th Parliament

Sudds was appointed to serve as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Women, Gender Equality, and Youth by Prime Minister

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 ...

on December 3, 2021. Sudds sat on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women as a voting member from December 1, 2021 through September 25, 2023. Throughout her tenure, Sudds has seconded and voted in favour of legislation which sought to advance

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

, and

worker's rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, ...

. She supported legislation to ban the practice of

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...

, which passed the House of Commons in a unanimous vote. She is a strong supporter of economic actions to strengthen Canada's technology sector, particularly

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping level ...

fabrication and critical mineral development. In foreign policy, she has supported sanctions against Russian political leaders and oligarchs in response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, and

sanctions against Iran There have been a number of international sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, follo ...

following the

Mahsa Amini protests Civil unrest and protests against the Government of Iran, government of the Islamic Republic of Iran associated with the Death in custody, death in police custody of Death of Mahsa Amini#Victim, Mahsa Amini () began on 16 September 2022 and ca ...

. After the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Sudds, like many other Canadian Parliamentarians, was sanctioned by government of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

after the Canadian government sanctioned many Russian officials close to Vladimir Putin over his Ukrainian invasion.

Awards

* Kanata North Citizen of the Year (2012–2013) * Forty Under 40 Award (2015) from the

Ottawa Business Journal The ''Ottawa Business Journal'' (OBJ) is a regional business publication serving Canada's National Capital Region. In addition to a digital website, obj.ca, ''Ottawa Business Journal'' boasts a quarterly newspaper with a circulation of 10,000 cop ...

and Ottawa Board of Trade * 40 Under 40 International Economic Development Professional Award (2016)

Electoral record

Federal

2018 Ottawa municipal election

Personal life

Sudds is married and has three daughters.

References

External links

Official website

Jenna Sudds – Parliament of Canada Voting Record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudds, Jenna Ottawa city councillors Living people People from Niagara Falls, Ontario People from Oakville, Ontario Brock University alumni 1979 births Women municipal councillors in Ontario Women government ministers of Canada Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Members of the 29th Canadian Ministry Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario 21st-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century Canadian municipal councillors