Matthew Steven Strauss (born 1985 or 1986) is a Canadian

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

, public servant, and politician serving as the Member of Parliament for Kitchener South—Hespeler since 2025. A member of the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

, Strauss is the first Conservative to represent the district. From 2021 to 2023, he was the acting

medical officer of health A medical officer of health, also known as a medical health officer, chief health officer, chief public health officer or district medical officer, is the title commonly used for the senior government official of a health department, usually at a m ...

for Haldimand and

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

counties in southwestern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/haldimand-norfolk-medical-officer-resigns-1.6709252

Early life and career

Strauss was born in Kitchener and raised in the community of Hespeler. He is descended from

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

refugees from the

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

region in the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. In 2008, Strauss received an MD from the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. He received certification to practice

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

in 2012 and

critical care medicine Intensive care medicine, usually called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes ...

in 2013. Strauss joined the faculty of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine in 2013, teaching medicine at the regional campus in Waterloo. From 2019 to 2021, Strauss was also employed as an assistant professor of medicine at Queen's University. Strauss served as chief of the ICU at

Guelph General Hospital Guelph General Hospital is a medical care facility in Guelph, Ontario, 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 Pacif ...

, and held privileges at

Grand River Hospital Grand River Hospital is a hospital located in Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The hospital operates two campuses, Kitchener-Waterloo Health Centre and Freeport Health Centre, which were independent hospitals that merged to form Gra ...

and

Kingston General Hospital The Kingston General Hospital (KGH) site is an acute-care teaching hospital affiliated with Queen's University located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Along with the Hotel Dieu Hospital (HDH) site, these hospitals form Kingston Health Sciences ...

COVID-19 pandemic

Strauss has been a vocal opponent of lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine mandates from the onset of the pandemic. Strauss

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that he would "sooner give ischildren

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

than a

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happy meal A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food Chain store#Restaurant chain, restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard b ...

," which was criticized when he was appointed the acting medical officer of health for Haldimand and Norfolk counties. The

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...

called for his appointment to be vetoed by the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

. In his 16 months on the job, Haldimand-Norfolk went from being second last in the province for vaccination rates to the middle of the list. Strauss ultimately resigned from his position for reasons unrelated to the controversy surrounding his appointment.

Politics

In November 2023, Strauss was announced as the Conservative candidate for Kitchener South—Hespeler. Strauss defeated the Liberal incumbent Valerie Bradford in 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 ...

. He is the first Conservative to represent the district.

Electoral record

References

Living people Conservative Party of Canada MPs Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Physicians from Ontario 21st-century Canadian physicians Canadian people of Romanian descent University of Western Ontario alumni Academic staff of Queen's University at Kingston {{Ontario-MP-stub