Friends in high places

In light of their election on October 19, 2015, some 15 uOttawa alumni, one faculty member and one recipient of an honorary doctorate, have taken up their seats in Parliament. And the University of Ottawa couldn’t be prouder of every one of them!

By Linda Scales

Published Tuesday December 15, 2015

What’s more, three other MPs with ties to uOttawa have been appointed to Cabinet:

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, who has been named Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, is a 1993 political science graduate. Qualtrough is a lawyer, volunteer, and athlete who has been visually impaired since birth. She has won three Paralympic and four World Championship medals in swimming.

Canada’s new Minister of Health, the Honourable Dr. Jane Philpott, completed her family medicine residency training at the University of Ottawa between 1984 and 1986. In addition to being a family physician, Philpott practiced medicine in Niger, West Africa, for close to ten years.

Dr. Jane Philpott smiles in front of a map of the world.

New Minister of Health Dr. Jane Philpott in her Markham, Ontario office when she was chief of the Department of Family Medicine at the Markham Stouffville Hospital in January 2012. Photo: Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail.

A recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa in 1997, Marc Garneau is the new Minister of Transport. In 1984, Garneau made history when he became the first Canadian astronaut to go into outer space as a NASA space shuttle mission crew member.

One of the re-elected is the former Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Andrew Scheer. He graduated from the University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science. In 2011, all members of Parliament participated in a secret ballot, and chose him to be Speaker. At age 32, he was the youngest Speaker of the House in Canadian history.

Complete list of Parliamentarian Alumni *

Mauril Bélanger, MP (BA '76)
Maxime Bernier, MP (LLL '88)
Guy Caron, MP (BA '92)
Francis Drouin, MP (BCom '14)
Greg Fergus, MP (BSocSc '92)
Ahmed Hussen, MP (JD '11)
Angelo G. Iacona, MP (LLB '00)
Paul Lefebvre, MP (LLB '99)
Andrew Leslie, MP (BSocSc '80)
David McGuinty, MP (BA LLB '86 and '88)
Denis Paradis, MP (BCom '70 and '75 LLL)
The Honourable Dr. Jane Philpott, MP (Family Medicine Residency '86) - Minister of Health
The Honourable Carla Qualtrough MP (BSocSc '93) - Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
Anthony Rota, MP (MBA '99)
Andrew Scheer, MP (BA '08)

* We hope we did not we miss anyone. If so, please let us know.

And in addition to our alumni ...

William Amos, MP - Director and Staff Lawyer for Ecojustice (on leave) and Professor, Faculty of Common Law
The Honourable Marc Garneau, MP (Honorary Doctorate '97) - Minister of Transport

Friends in high places

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