Peter Fragiskatos (born April 30, 1981) is a Canadian academic and
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...
politician, who was first elected to represent the
riding of
London North Centre 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 ...
in the
2015 federal election. He was re-elected in the
2019
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
,
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
, and
2025 federal elections.
Early life and career
Fragiskatos' family is of Greek descent. His grandmother Panagiota emigrated from
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and later became an organizer for the
New Democratic Party's leaders
Tommy Douglas
Thomas Clement Douglas (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as the seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Bap ...
and
Stephen Lewis
Stephen Henry Lewis (born November 11, 1937) is a Canadian politician, public speaker, broadcaster, and diplomat. He was the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations in the 1980s and was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democr ...
. Fragiskatos later attributed his interest in politics and
social justice
Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
to her. He attended the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...
(where he earned a Bachelor of Arts),
Queen's University (Master of Arts), and finally the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
(PhD), where his focus was on
Kurdish human rights issues.
Prior to his election, Fragiskatos was a political science professor at
Huron University College and
King's University College at the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...
. He was a frequent commentator on international issues, and was published by ''
Maclean's'', ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', ''
The Toronto Star'',
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, and
CNN.
Federal politics
Fragiskatos was elected to represent the
riding of
London North Centre 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 ...
in the
2015 federal election.
Since first being elected in 2015, Fragiskatos has held committee appointments, which include: Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities ( - Present) Foreign Affairs and International Development (January 29, 2016 – September 18, 2017), Public Safety and National Security (September 18, 2017 – September 19, 2018), Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (January 31, 2017 – September 11, 2019), Finance (September 19, 2018 – September 11, 2019, January 27 – August 18, 2020, October 6, 2020 – August 15, 2021), Canada–China Relations (January 15 – August 18, 2020, October 6, 2020 – August 15, 2021) and Public Accounts (December 9, 2021 – Present).
On October 21, 2019, MP Fragiskatos was re-elected by the residents of London North Centre during the
2019 federal election.
On June 15, 2021,
Justin Trudeau, the
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...
, appointed MP Fragiskatos to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians after he secured a top secret security clearance, a requirement for the role. As stated in the release announcing the appointment, the Honourable
David J. McGuinty has chaired this committee since its launch in 2017, and includes representatives from both the House of Commons and the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. It provides a non-partisan approach to the review of national security and intelligence activities carried out across the Government of Canada. The committee was first created under the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act, which received Royal Assent on June 22, 2017.
The
2021 federal election, held that September 20, saw Fragiskatos re-elected to a third term by the voters in London North Centre. Shortly thereafter, on December 3, 2021, Prime Minister Trudeau appointed MP Fragiskatos as the
Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of National Revenue.
In January 2025, Fragiskatos was one of many Liberal MPs to call on Trudeau to resign during the
2024–2025 Canadian political crisis. He was re-elected in the
2025 federal election.
Personal life
Fragiskatos lives in the riding of London North Centre with his wife, Katy, and his daughter, Ava.
Electoral record
References
External links
Official Website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fragiskatos, Peter
1981 births
Living people
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Politicians from London, Ontario
Canadian people of Greek descent
Canadian political scientists
Queen's University at Kingston alumni
University of Western Ontario alumni
21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada