Ziad Aboultaif
- Born
- September 10, 1966
- Family
- Married to Elizabeth since 1991, two sons
- Career
- Co-owner and co-managed Axxess Furniture Inc., an Edmonton-based furniture distribution business, for 12 years.
- Political Experience
- First elected to represent the riding of Edmonton Manning in the House of Commons in the 2015 federal election. Shadow minister of National Revenue (2015-2017), shadow minister for International Development (2 years), shadow minister for Digital Government (1 year). Re-elected in 2019, 2021 and 2025.
- Notable
- Originally from Lebanon, immigrated to Canada in 1990. Made a partial-liver donation to his son in 2003. Holds Dual-citizenship with Lebanon. Alberta Centennial Medal, Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal, Uzbekistan's 30th National Anniversary Medal, and the King Charles III Coronation Medal. Fellow at the Royal Canadian Geographic Society.
Based on publicly available information — may contain inaccuracies
Business & Financial Interests
Before entering federal politics, Ziad Aboultaif was a business owner in Edmonton, Alberta. He reportedly owned and operated a car dealership, A-Z Auto, for many years. His background is in business and entrepreneurship, and he has spoken about his experience as a small business owner in the House of Commons.
Public Controversies
In May 2021, Aboultaif faced criticism and calls for an apology after making comments in the House of Commons during a debate on a bill to ban conversion therapy. He was accused of linking the LGBTQ community with "the failed experiment of communism," a remark that was condemned by political opponents and LGBTQ advocates as harmful and inappropriate. Aboultaif later stated his words were taken out of context. He also sponsored a private member's bill, C-210, concerning organ donation, which passed in 2019. While the bill's intent to make it easier for Canadians to register as organ donors was widely supported, some aspects of the bill and its wording reportedly drew criticism from some medical experts and advocacy groups who raised concerns about potential pressure on individuals and the role of the federal government in a provincial jurisdiction.
Where Ziad falls on key policy spectrums
Your Money
People & Society
How We're Governed
Land & Community
Ziad Aboultaif won with 26,445 votes (53.1%)
Total votes cast: 49,807
How does Ziad Aboultaif's voting record line up with your values?
Is the department convinced that some of the programs are not effective or that we can go along without them? Can you be specific on the programs that will be experiencing severe cuts? What are they?
You mentioned the cuts in the health care area. It does affect certain partners. Are some of these partners being affected completely? Are we cutting off some partners completely? We're talking about large sums of money here.
Thank you.
Okay. That's about a 30% to 33% reduction, and you said that you're bringing it to pre-COVID. On the $2 billion you'll be missing, where was that spent so that you will be able to cut it?
Thank you, Chair. I'm sorry to keep you waiting, by the way. The time is running. On the estimates, vote 10, grants and contributions, there will be less money available in that category. For the sake of the committee, can you tell us what vote 10 includes and how this is going to affect your operation in general?
Will you be able to go into more detail about which programs were affected the most? You also mentioned FinDev, in a way. How much has FinDev achieved? How much money have you spent on FinDev, and how is this going to impact this whole program? Is there a chance that FinDev will be gone, that they won't be there anymore? I'd like to go into more detail on this, rather than get a generic answer.