The Honourable
Jonathan Wilkinson
PC MP
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
Assumed office
October 26, 2021
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded bySeamus O'Regan
Minister of Environment and Climate Change
In office
November 20, 2019 – October 26, 2021
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byCatherine McKenna
Succeeded bySteven Guilbeault
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
In office
July 18, 2018 – November 20, 2019
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byDominic LeBlanc
Succeeded byBernadette Jordan
Member of Parliament
for North Vancouver
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byAndrew Saxton
Personal details
Born (1965-06-11) June 11, 1965
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal
Other political
affiliations		New Democratic (formerly)
Residence(s)North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Saskatchewan (B.A.)
University of Oxford, McGill University (Masters)
ProfessionBusinessman

Jonathan Wilkinson PC MP (born June 11, 1965) is a Canadian politician who has served as the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources since 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, Wilkinson was elected as the member of Parliament (MP) for North Vancouver in 2015. He previously served as the minister of fisheries, oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard from 2018 to 2019 and minister of environment and climate change from 2019 to 2021. He was has been Minister of Natural Resources since 2021, styled Minister of Energy and Natural Resources since 2023. Before entering politics, Wilkinson was a constitutional negotiator and businessman who spent 20 years in the private sector, mainly with green technology companies.

Early life and education

Wilkinson was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and grew up in Saskatoon.[1] He was the former leader of the New Democratic Party's youth wing in Saskatchewan.[1][2]

Wilkinson earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Saskatchewan and went on to be named the Prairies Rhodes Scholar in 1988, reading Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at Exeter College, Oxford.[3] He earned master's degrees in international relations, politics, and economics from Oxford and McGill.[1]

Career

Wilkinson was an advisor to Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow and served in the provincial civil service from 1991 to 1995, when he joined Bain & Company's Toronto branch.[1] In 1999, he relocated to Vancouver to work for QuestAir Technologies, a gas purification company and he became its CEO in 2002.[1] In 2009, he became the senior vice-president for business development in Nexterra Systems, a biomass company.[1] In 2011, Wilkinson became the CEO of BioteQ Environmental Technologies, a water treatment company based in Vancouver.[1]

Political career

Wilkinson defeated Conservative parliamentary secretary Andrew Saxton by a nearly 2-to-1 margin amid the Liberal wave that swept through Greater Vancouver in the 2015 federal election. North Vancouver and its predecessor, North Vancouver—Burnaby, had been in the hands of a centre-right party for all but four years since 1979. He was reelected in 2019 by a reduced margin, but still bested Saxton by 16 percentage points in a rematch. He increased his vote share in the 2021 snap election by over 2%, representing his third election victory.

Since being elected Member of Parliament for North Vancouver, Wilkinson has taken a leadership role in representing the Iranian-Canadian community. This included responding to the downing of Flight PS752 in January 2020 and being a vocal critic of the Iranian Regime throughout his tenure. In response to the death of Mahsa Amini and the subsequent crackdown on protesters in Iran in 2022 and 2023, Wilkinson personally sponsored and called for the release of Dr. Hamid Ghare- Hassanlou and his wife Farzaneh Ghare- Hassanlou, Mohammed Rakhshani and rap artist Toomaj Salehi, all of whom were charged, imprisoned, or condemned to death by the Iranian Regime.

On July 18, 2018, Wilkinson was appointed to cabinet for the first time as Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. He had previously spent nearly three years as Parliamentary Secretary to then Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna.

On November 20, 2019, Wilkinson was appointed Minister of Environment and Climate Change in the 29th Canadian Ministry. A year later, he released Canada's plan to reach its then 2030 emissions targets, entitled "A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy."

On October 26, 2021, Wilkinson was shuffled to replace Seamus O'Regan as Minister of Natural Resources. On July 26, 2023, Wilkinson's title was amended to become Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

Electoral record

2021 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalJonathan Wilkinson26,75645.1+2.2
ConservativeLes Jickling16,67128.1+1.2
New DemocraticTammy Bentz11,75019.8+3.4
GreenArchie Kaario2,5984.4-8.1
People'sJohn Galloway1,5452.6+1.3
Total valid votes 59,32099.4
Total rejected ballots 3830.6
Turnout 59,70366.1
Eligible voters 90,326
Liberal hold Swing +0.5
Source: Elections Canada[4]
2019 Canadian federal election: North Vancouver
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalJonathan Wilkinson26,97942.87-13.78$98,189.08
ConservativeAndrew Saxton16,90826.87-0.02none listed
New DemocraticJustine Bell10,34016.43+8.64$40,432.73
GreenGeorge Orr7,86812.50+4.19$39,810.86
People'sAzmairnin Jadavji8351.33–none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 62,93099.45
Total rejected ballots 3490.55+0.21
Turnout 63,27971.20-4.57
Eligible voters 88,874
Liberal hold Swing -6.88
Source: Elections Canada[5][6]
2015 Canadian federal election: North Vancouver
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalJonathan Wilkinson36,45856.65+26.94$149,970.51
ConservativeAndrew Saxton17,30126.88-20.67$149,776.24
GreenClaire Martin5,3508.31+3.08$135,108.48
New DemocraticCarleen Thomas5,0157.79-9.06$21,413.99
LibertarianIsmet Yetisen1360.21–$1,942.47
IndependentPayam Azad940.15–$22.40
Total valid votes/Expense limit 64,354100.00 $220,823.27
Total rejected ballots 2180.34–
Turnout 64,57276.79–
Eligible voters 84,093
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +23.80
Source: Elections Canada[7][8][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Blackwell, Richard (6 September 2012). "BioteQ's Jonathan Wilkinson a business oddity, but no fish out of water". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Liberals select North Shore candidates for 2015 federal election". Vancouver Sun. 28 June 2014. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Impact of Philanthropy: The Rhodes Trust Donor Report 2011–2012" (PDF). rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  7. ↑ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for North Vancouver, 30 September 2015
  8. ↑ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
  9. ↑ "Résultats du soir d'élection - Circonscriptions".
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