Anthony Housefather
- Born
- January 25, 1970 — Montreal, Quebec
- Education
- B.C.L. and LL.B. from McGill University, and an MBA from Concordia University's John Molson School of Business
- Career
- Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and General Counsel, at Dialogic Corporation
- Political Experience
- Municipal councillor in the Town of Hampstead (1994-2001), municipal councillor in the borough of Côte Saint-Luc-Hampstead-Montreal West (2001), Mayor of the City of Côte Saint-Luc (2005-2015), Member of Parliament for Mount Royal (2015-present)
- Notable
- Nationally ranked athlete as a student, seven medals at the 2013 Maccabiah Games, five medals at the 2017 Maccabiah Games. Appointed as advisor on Canadian Jewish community and antisemitism in July 2024.
Based on publicly available information — may contain inaccuracies
Business & Financial Interests
Before entering federal politics, Anthony Housefather had a career in both law and business. He practiced law at a Montreal-based firm and later served as the Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and General Counsel for Dialogic Corporation, a technology company. His public service career began at the municipal level, where he served as a city councillor and later as the mayor of Côte Saint-Luc, a city in his current federal riding.
Key Relationships & Connections
Anthony Housefather is the successor to former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler in the Mount Royal riding, and the two have been described as political allies. Housefather is a prominent voice on issues concerning the Jewish community in Canada and serves as the chair of the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group. He is known to work with various community organizations on issues of antisemitism and human rights.
Public Controversies
Anthony Housefather has been at the center of public attention for publicly disagreeing with his own Liberal government on several key issues. In March 2024, he reportedly threatened to leave the Liberal caucus over the government's initial willingness to support a modified NDP motion related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he argued was anti-Israel. The government ultimately changed its position after significant pressure from Housefather and other MPs. He has also been a vocal and consistent critic of Quebec's secularism law (Bill 21) and its French-language law (Bill 96), arguing they infringe on minority rights. His outspokenness on these files has sometimes placed him at odds with his party's official stance and generated significant media coverage.
Where Anthony falls on key policy spectrums
Your Money
People & Society
How We're Governed
Land & Community
How does Anthony Housefather's voting record line up with your values?
Mr. Speaker, I rise today regarding a deeply troubling complaint filed with the Canada Revenue Agency targeting 11 Jewish schools in Montreal and Toronto. These schools are essential pillars of Jewish life in Canada. They exist to teach language, history, culture and identity, just as faith-based schools across this country do. For months, there has been a coordinated effort to mis-characterize
Mr. Speaker, my question relates to litigation directive number 14, which I, again, have heard a lot of misinformation about, claiming that somehow the directive would preclude counsel for the Government of Canada from making every argument necessary to defend property rights. My understanding is that all the directive does is, if I can find the right words, require “a principled basis and
Prime Minister Mr. Speaker, thespoke very clearly in this House, making it very clear that the government was going to defend private property rights and that the government immediately appealed the decision. My question is for the hon. member whose speech I just listened to. I felt there were multiple times when it sank into disinformation. Does the hon. member believe a parliamentary committee
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll try not to geek out about a Supreme Court justice being here, but it's also something that's very exciting.
That one, I'm very sympathetic to. I want to mention something, because I have less agreement with raising the grounds to “reasonable belief” from “reasonable grounds to suspect”. I wanted to point out that the “Conditions for making [the] demand” say: (2) The peace officer or public officer may make the demand only if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that (a) an offence has been or
I'm just wondering if Professor Diab might be able to speak up, because I'm having trouble hearing him.
I appreciate that.
It was just getting good.
Basically, though, it's saying that proposed sections 5 and 7 are subject to proposed section 10. I also understand adjusting the definition of “systemic vulnerability”.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's always fascinating to listen to my colleague Mr. Caputo. First of all, let me start by saying thank you so much for being here. Obviously, I'm strongly in favour of this bill. As I said in the House, I think we need a modern access regime. I think we need to deal with Bykovets and Spencer and have proper legislation that allows us to deal with things like that. I
Absolutely, I will speak more slowly.
If the company believes that it would create a systemic vulnerability, under what circumstances is the company then able—unless it convinces the minister or representatives of the minister—to push back and say, “No, this would create a systemic vulnerability”? How come the bill as drafted doesn't say that the order must be complied with except to the extent that the company believes that, using