Mélanie Joly
- Born
- January 16, 1979 — Montreal, Quebec
- Family
- Married to Felix Marzell
- Education
- Bachelor of Laws degree at the Université de Montréal in 2001; Magister Juris in comparative and public law in 2003 from Brasenose College, Oxford
- Career
- Practiced law at Stikeman Elliott and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg; interned at Radio-Canada
- Political Experience
- Ran for mayor of Montreal in 2013; elected as MP for Ahuntsic-Cartierville in 2015; Minister of Canadian Heritage (2015–2018); Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie (2018–2019); Minister of Economic Development (2019–2021); Minister of Foreign Affairs (2021–2025); Minister of Industry (2025-present)
- Notable
- Daughter of Laurette Racine and Clément Joly; stepmother was Carole-Marie Allard, a former MP; founded Vrai changement pour Montréal; headed the Quebec Advisory Committee for Justin Trudeau's leadership campaign
Based on publicly available information — may contain inaccuracies
Business & Financial Interests
Before entering federal politics, Mélanie Joly had a career in law and communications. She practiced law at two major Montreal firms, Stikeman Elliott and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg. She later became a managing partner at the Montreal office of the public relations firm Cohn & Wolfe. Joly also co-founded a non-profit organization called Génération d'idées, which was a political discussion group for young Quebecers.
Key Relationships & Connections
Mélanie Joly is considered a key member of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet and a close political ally. She co-chaired the Quebec campaign for the Liberal Party in the 2015 election that brought Trudeau to power. Her political career gained prominence after her 2013 run for mayor of Montreal, where she finished second. This campaign raised her public profile significantly before she entered federal politics.
Potential Conflicts of Interest
In 2018, while she was Minister of Canadian Heritage, reports emerged that her romantic partner was a partner at a public relations firm that had received government contracts. The Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner reviewed the matter. The Commissioner's report concluded that Joly did not breach the Conflict of Interest Act, as she had properly recused herself from the decision-making process regarding the contracts in question.
Public Controversies
As Minister of Canadian Heritage, Joly faced criticism in 2017 over a cultural policy agreement with Netflix. The deal, which involved a $500 million investment in Canadian productions, was controversial because it did not require the company to pay sales tax or adhere to French-language content quotas, which angered some in Quebec's cultural sector. More recently, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, her department, Global Affairs Canada, came under scrutiny for significant spending on consultants and for an incident in 2022 where a senior departmental official attended a party at the Russian embassy in Ottawa. Joly publicly condemned the official's attendance and stated it was unacceptable, especially following the invasion of Ukraine.
Where Mélanie falls on key policy spectrums
Your Money
People & Society
How We're Governed
Land & Community
Mélanie Joly won with 30,833 votes (61.0%)
Total votes cast: 50,577
How does Mélanie Joly's voting record line up with your values?
Mr. Speaker, my colleague just referred to some good news today for the over 3,000 people who are about to get jobs because of the new partnership between Saab and Bombardier. Finally, we are going to get a surveillance aircraft not only for Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces, but for the whole world. The United Arab Emirates, France and several other NATO countries want to buy this aircraft,
Prime Minister Mr. Speaker, we can be proud to have awho not only is travelling across the world to bring back investment and jobs but also is working in a very difficult environment across the world as the international rules order is shifting. That is what Canadians expect. We were able to create jobs across this country. We have been able to create more than 70,000 jobs since last fall, and
Mr. Speaker, we know how to give the next generation a chance and an opportunity: by making investments that create jobs. We can celebrate the new order for 150 new commercial aircraft from Airbus in Mirabel. This is the largest order in the history of commercial aviation in Canada. That is good news for people in the Lower Laurentians. There is more good news. I was also with the Quebec
Mr. Speaker, at last, a good question, and it comes from my colleague from Mont-Saint-Bruno—L'Acadie. Indeed, two weeks ago we received some very good news for the aerospace sector, particularly for Airbus in Mirabel. There are now 150 new aircraft under construction in Mirabel. This is an order placed by AirAsia, a Malaysian—and therefore Asian—airline, with Airbus, a European company. All of