Steven Garrett MacKinnon (born September 28, 1966) is a Canadian politician who has been the member of Parliament (MP) for

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

since 2015. 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 ...

, MacKinnon is the

Government House Leader The Government House Leader, officially known as the leader of the Government in the House of Commons of Canada (), is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Commons of ...

Early life and education

MacKinnon was born in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, and studied business at the

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian French-language university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on hig ...

and Queen's University. In addition to his career in politics, MacKinnon has worked in business and public affairs. From 2007 to 2015, he was Senior Vice-President and National Practice Leader at a global public affairs consultancy firm, where he led teams and major projects in mergers and acquisitions and financial communications.

Political career

As political advisor

McKinnon served as executive assistant and an advisor to New Brunswick Premier

Frank McKenna Francis Joseph McKenna (born January 19, 1948) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat. He is currently Chair of Brookfield Corporation and Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. He served as Canadian Ambassador ...

from 1988 to 1995. A supporter and advisor to former Prime Minister

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

, McKinnon was named Deputy National Director upon Martin's election as party leader and Prime Minister. He acted as the party's communications chief during the

2004 election The following elections occurred in the year 2004. Africa * 2004 Algerian presidential election * 2004 Botswana general election * 2004 Cameroonian presidential election * 2004 Comorian legislative election * 2004 Equatorial Guinean legislativ ...

, and was promoted to national director of the

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, ...

after the election. In that role, he oversaw a overhaul of the party's constitution and the last competitive leadership contest decided through a delegated convention, both cumulating at the party's convention held in Montreal in December 2006 where fourth place contender

Stéphane Dion Stéphane Maurice Dion (; ; born 28September 1955) is a Canadian diplomat, academic and former politician who has been the List of ambassadors of Canada to France, Canadian ambassador to France and Monaco since 2022 and special envoy to the Eu ...

emerged as the surprised victor. McKinnon announced he resignation as national director in the week immediately following the convention. He later served as the returning officer for the 2013 federal leadership election.

Parliamentary career

MacKinnon first contested for a seat in parliament in the 2011 federal election in Gatineau, finishing third and almost 50 points behind

Françoise Boivin Françoise Boivin (born June 11, 1960 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Gatineau in the House of Commons of Canada until 2015. She first represented the district from 2004 to 2006 as a member ...

, a former Liberal MP running for the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

who secured 62% of the votes, and the then-incumbent

Bloc Quebecois Bloc may refer to: Government and politics * Political bloc, a coalition of political parties * Trade bloc, a type of intergovernmental agreement * Voting bloc, a group of voters voting together * Black bloc, a tactic used by protesters who wear ...

MP Richard Nadeau by just over 1 point. Four years later at the

2015 election Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African g ...

, MacKinnon returned and defeated Boivin by a 2-to-1 margin. He was relected in 2019 and 2021 with similar margins against

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...

rival Geneviève Nadeau. MacKinnon was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement in January 2017, and with the exception for the campaign period in 2019 held the role continuously under three ministers until the dissolution of parliament prior to the 2021 election.

Frontbench career

Following the 2021 election, MacKinnon was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as

Chief Government Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

and was sworn in as a Privy Councillor. He was promoted to cabinet in January 2024 on an interim basis as

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons The Government House Leader, officially known as the leader of the Government in the House of Commons of Canada (), is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Commons of ...

during the parental leave of the incoming House Leader

Karina Gould Karina Gould (born June 28, 1987) is a Canadian politician and member of the Liberal Party. She has served as member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Burlington in the House of Commons since October 19, 2015. Gould was first appointed to ...

. He was made a full member of cabinet in July as

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

and

Minister of Seniors The Minister of Seniors (), previously known as the Minister of State for Seniors (), is a Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The portfolio was initially introduced during the government of Stephen Harper but the position was label ...

. In the cabinet shuffle that took place at the height of the

2024–2025 Canadian political crisis A political crisis emerged in Canada after Chrystia Freeland, the then-Minister of Finance (Canada), minister of finance and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, deputy prime minister, resigned from Cabinet of Canada, Cabinet on 16 December 2024. The ...

, MacKinnon relinquished the senior portfolio and consolidated other workforce related portfolios to became the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. In the two weeks following the resignation of 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 ...

, MacKinnon publicly explored a bid in the

2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election From February 26 to March 9, 2025, members of the Liberal Party of Canada voted on a successor for Justin Trudeau after he announced his intent to resign as the party leader and prime minister of Canada. Mark Carney, the former governor of ...

, but opted not to enter the race citing the short duration of the race. He later endorsed the candidacy of former Bank of Canada governor

Mark Carney Mark Joseph Carney (born March 16, 1965) is a Canadian politician and economist who has served as the 24th and current Prime Minister of Canada, prime minister of Canada since 2025. He has served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, lead ...

. On January 25, MacKinnon was appointed Leader of the Government in the House of Commons of Canada after

resigned from cabinet to run in the leadership race; MacKinnon had previously stood in for her during her maternity leave the previous year. On March 14, 2025, upon the beginning of the

30th Canadian Ministry The Thirtieth Canadian Ministry is the Cabinet of Canada, cabinet chaired by Mark Carney, Prime Minister Mark Carney, and which has governed Canada since Justin Trudeau vacated the office. Following the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership e ...

, MacKinnon was appointed Minister of Jobs and Families by new Prime Minister

. He was later appointed as the permanent Leader of the Government in the House of Commons on May 13, 2025.

Electoral record

Notes

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacKinnon, Steve 1966 births Living people Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Politicians from Charlottetown Politicians from Gatineau Queen's University at Kingston alumni Université de Moncton alumni Canadian political consultants Anglophone Quebec people Ministers of labour of Canada Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Members of the 29th Canadian Ministry Members of the 30th Canadian Ministry 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada