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Ali Ehsassi

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Ali Ehsassi
Minister of Government Transformation, Public Services and Procurement
Assumed office
March 14, 2025
Prime MinisterMark Carney
Preceded byJean-Yves Duclos
Member of Parliament
for Willowdale
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byChungsen Leung
Personal details
Born (1970-04-24) April 24, 1970 (age 55)
Geneva, Switzerland
Political partyLiberal
RelativesAbdolhossein Teymourtash (great-grandfather)
Residence(s)Lansing,[1] North York, Toronto, Ontario
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
Osgoode Hall Law School
Georgetown University
London School of Economics
ProfessionLawyer, International Law Executive of the Ontario Bar Association

Ali Cyrus Ehsassi[1] MP (Persian: علی احساسی‎; born April 24, 1970) is a Canadian-Iranian politician who has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Willowdale since 2015.[2] He is the current Minister of Government Transformation, Public Services and Procurement.[3]

Biography

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Ehsassi was born on April 24, 1970, in Geneva, Switzerland. At the age of three, his family relocated to New York City and by age 15, Ehsassi moved to North York, Ontario, with his family.[4][better source needed]

Ehsassi's extended family has extensive experience in international relations. His maternal great-grandfather was Iranian statesman Abdolhossein Teymourtash, who was the first Minister of Court during the Pahlavi dynasty. Ehsassi's father was also an Iranian diplomat and worked in Iran's embassy in Switzerland when he was born. His family left Iran during the Iranian Revolution.

Education

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Ehsassi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Master's of Science degree from the London School of Economics[citation needed]. He attended York University Osgoode Hall Law School having obtained his LL.B.[citation needed] Ehsassi then went on to Georgetown University Law School to pursue a masters of international trade and arbitration law,[4] which he attended concurrently as a global and WTO fellow.[citation needed][better source needed]

Member of Parliament

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Ehsassi has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Willowdale since 2015. He was one of the first two Canadians of Iranian heritage elected to federal Parliament.[5]

Ehsassi is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and other Crimes against Humanity, Co-Chair of the 416 Caucus, is on the Standing Committee for Citizenship and Immigration, and the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations.

He is also a member of several Parliamentary Associations and Interparliamentary groups such as the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association, Canada-China Legislative Association Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group, Canada-United Kingdom Inter-Parliamentary Association, Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association and the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas.[6]

He notably opposes the Iranian government and called for a public inquiry into potential Iranian interference in Canadian elections.[7]

In the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, he endorsed Mark Carney.[8]


Electoral record

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2025 Canadian federal election: Willowdale
** Preliminary results — Not yet official **
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Ali Ehsassi 25,487 53.45 +2.26
Conservative James Lin 20,915 43.86 +10.00
New Democratic Christy Kheirallah 1,286 2.70 –7.59
Total valid votes/expense limit
Total rejected ballots
Turnout 47,688 60.63
Eligible voters 78,656
Liberal hold Swing –3.87
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]
2021 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Ali Ehsassi 21,043 51.2 +2.2 $98,989.39
Conservative Daniel Lee 13,916 33.9 -2.3 $70,040.08
New Democratic Hal Berman 4,231 10.3 +1.0 $2,471.22
People's Al Wahab 1,102 2.7 +1.5 $1,784.10
Green Anna Gorka 812 2.0 -1.7 $1,462.34
Total valid votes/Expense limit 41,104 99.1 $108,952.94
Total rejected ballots 383 0.9
Turnout 41,487 54.8
Eligible voters 75,773
Liberal hold Swing +2.3
Source: Elections Canada[11]
2019 Canadian federal election: Willowdale
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Ali Ehsassi 22,282 49.0 -4.4 $103,868.26
Conservative Daniel Lee 16,452 36.2 -0.8 $82,193.67
New Democratic Leah Kalsi 4,231 9.3 +2.3 none listed
Green Sharolyn Vettese 1,671 3.7 +1.5 $0.00
People's Richard Hillier 563 1.2 - $1,005.61
Independent Birinder Singh Ahluwalia 200 0.4 -0.1 none listed
Independent Shodja Ziaian 71 0.2 - none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 45,470 100.0
Total rejected ballots 410
Turnout 45,880 58.2
Eligible voters 78,809
Liberal hold Swing -1.80
Source: Elections Canada[12][13]
2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Ali Ehsassi 24,519 53.4 +13.5 $89,151.49
Conservative Chungsen Leung 16,990 37.0 -4.7 $135,960.85
New Democratic Pouyan Tabasinejad 3,203 7.0 -11.4 $6,678.16
Green James Arruda 1,025 2.2 +1.81 $7,484.51
Independent Birinder Singh Ahluwalia 216 0.5 $39,117.06
Total valid votes/Expense limit 45,953 100.0     $207,725.33
Total rejected ballots 251 0.5 -0.1
Turnout 46,204 61.46 +3.06
Eligible voters 75,172
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +9.1
Source: Elections Canada[14][15]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Search For Contributions". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  2. ^ "Willowdale: Liberal Ali Ehsassi unseats Conservative Chungsen Leung in Willowdale". 20 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Roles - Hon. Ali Ehsassi". Our Commons.
  4. ^ a b Chignall, Selina (2015-08-27). "Liberal candidate Ali Ehsassi: a life lived around the world". iPolitics. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  5. ^ "Iranian Canadians". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  6. ^ "Ali Ehsassi - Work - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  7. ^ "Lawmaker Urges Inquiry Into Iran Meddling In Canada's Politics". www.iranintl.com. 4 February 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  8. ^ Djuric, Mickey; Taylor-Vaisey, Nick; Blanchfield, Mike (2025-01-17). "Pipeline politics and tariff threats". POLITICO. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  9. ^ "Voter information service". Elections Canada. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  10. ^ "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". Elections Canada. 29 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Election Results: Willowdale – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  12. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  13. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  14. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Willowdale, 30 September 2015
  15. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
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