Rechie Valdez
- Born
- September 17, 1980 — Kitwe, Zambia
- Family
- Married to Christopher Valdez, and has two children
- Education
- Computer science degree at the University of Windsor in 2003
- Career
- 15 years in corporate banking, owned a baking business, competed in The Big Bake on Food Network Canada, and hosted and produced a television show Fearlessly Creative on Filipino TV
- Political Experience
- Elected as the member of Parliament (MP) for Mississauga—Streetsville in the 2021 federal election. Minister of Small Business in 2023. Chief Government Whip in 2025. Minister for Women and Gender Equality, and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism) since 2025.
- Notable
- First Filipino Canadian woman to serve as a Cabinet minister and MP.
Based on publicly available information — may contain inaccuracies
Business & Financial Interests
Before entering politics, Rechie Valdez had a career in banking and entrepreneurship. She reportedly worked at BMO Bank of Montreal for 15 years, holding various roles including in personal and commercial banking. Valdez was also the co-founder of a Filipino fusion bakery business. According to reports, she was involved in creative and marketing aspects of the company. She has also been involved in non-profit work and has produced and hosted a television show focused on Filipino culture and community.
Key Relationships & Connections
As a member of the Liberal caucus, Rechie Valdez's key political relationship is with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who appointed her to his cabinet. In July 2023, she was named the Minister of Small Business. This role places her in direct collaboration with other cabinet ministers and stakeholders in the Canadian business community.
Where Rechie falls on key policy spectrums
Your Money
People & Society
How We're Governed
Land & Community
Rechie Valdez won with 31,297 votes (51.5%)
Total votes cast: 60,731
How does Rechie Valdez's voting record line up with your values?
Mr. Speaker, building the strongest economy in the G7 means full and equal participation of women and gender-diverse Canadians. This is why I announced $77 million in funding to extend projects to nearly 400 organizations for women and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities across Canada. These are organizations on the front lines, such as Victim Services of Peel, that are helping women thrive in the workforce
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from Sarnia for her small business advocacy. I have good news. We have not just one but two new trade agreements that have been made law, with the United Kingdom and Indonesia. Together these agreements are going to boost our trade ties and give Canadian businesses access to markets and more than 340 million people. That means new customers for our exporters, new
Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to go back to the idea the member opposite brought up with regard to the campaign on femicides. I think that's a great idea, and if the committee agrees it's what we want to do in this country, you can certainly put that forward. With regard to the Quebec Assembly, I'm happy to work alongside Minister Biron. I congratulate her for taking on the portfolio again. I
Minister of Public Safety The government is doing everything it can through the human trafficking initiative. We're working very closely with thethrough his national strategy to combat human trafficking. We are ensuring that we're doing everything we can, through our investments, to provide supports to organizations on the ground that are doing the work, in order to prevent human trafficking and
If the member opposite would provide me with an opportunity, I'd be happy to give that answer. What I was saying is that with our investments in housing, we have a commitment to doubling the rate of housing, specifically helping to make sure that those who are most vulnerable get access. As for shelters, which are at the core of her questions, we have allocated $1 billion to make sure that
Thank you, Madam Chair. As a mother of a son, I can say it's really important that we ensure that all of our solutions are grounded in the fact that we need to take care of our men and boys—
Madam Chair, I thank my honourable colleague for that question. We've had many conversations with regard to ending gender-based violence in this country. What I can share with this committee, and I alluded to it the last time I was here, is that our government is committed to making sure that, through Women and Gender Equality Canada, we're investing and doing everything we can to end
Again, as I said earlier, not only is it important for us to make investments, which the sector has asked for, but we're making sure that we're addressing prevention, which I've already answered on as well.
Madam Chair, again, through the work through this national plan, and in addition to the national action plan to end gender-based violence, the government is doing everything it possibly can to ensure that we are addressing human trafficking across the country. I already responded to the member just the other day. What I can share is a story, because both of us are in the province of Ontario,
I have two points, Madam Chair. First, I want to thank our law enforcement agencies, particularly the Toronto and Peel police, who are doing the good work on the ground. We're going to give tools and resources to our law enforcement agencies, specifically through the legislation we put forward on bail reform, to make sure violent repeat offenders do not—
Thank you. Good morning, Madam Chair and honourable members of the committee. Thank you for the invitation to be here today. Before I begin, I want to share my profound devastation and heartbreak over the woman who lost her life in Gatineau this week, marking Quebec's 10th femicide this year. These femicides are heartbreaking and a reminder of the gravity of this crisis. It is a privilege to
A third of our legislation is focused on making sure we're keeping Canadians safe, whether it's our bail reform or the fact that we're hiring 1,000 CBSA officers and 1,000 RCMP officers. We're going to make sure we're keeping Canadians safe, and we're going to do that through our national strategy to combat human trafficking in this country.