Jenna Sudds

Career Sudds grew up in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Sudds attended Brock University in St. Catharines and moved to the National Capital Region in 2001 to complete her master's degree in economics at Carleton University. Sudds worked as an economist in the federal government for twelve years before becoming the inaugural President and executive director of the Kanata North Business Association, after being appointed to the role by a hiring committee that consisted of her predecessor on Council, Marianne Wilkinson. From November 2017 to November 2018, Sudds was the inaugural executive director at the CIO Strategy Council, a national technology council. In March 2018, she announced her decision to run for Ottawa City Council, Kanata North. In December 2020, she was appointed to serve as Deputy Mayor of Ottawa.

Sudds has been a longtime volunteer with the Kanata Food Cupboard and the Ottawa Network for Education. She has received a Special Recognition Award from the Kanata Food Cupboard for her leadership and service to those in need in the community. She received a Forty Under 40 Award from the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce in 2015, and was named one of Development Counsellors International's Top 40 under 40 working in economic development in 2017. On March 14, Ottawa MP Jenna Sudds was shuffled out of cabinet.

The removal of Sudds, who was minister of Families, Children and Social Development, came the morning of March 14 as new Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a leaner cabinet with nearly half the number of ministers.

Politics

Sudds was elected as a Liberal in Kanata—Carleton in the 2021 Canadian federal election, replacing outgoing Liberal Member of Parliament Karen McCrimmon.

44th Parliament Sudds was appointed to serve as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Women, Gender Equality, and Youth by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on December 3, 2021.

Throughout her tenure, Sudds has seconded and voted in favour of legislation which sought to advance women's rights, affordable housing, and worker's rights. She supported legislation to ban the practice of conversion therapy, which passed the House of Commons in a unanimous vote. She is a strong supporter of economic actions to strengthen Canada's technology sector, particularly semiconductor fabrication and critical mineral development.

In foreign policy, she has supported sanctions against Russian political leaders and oligarchs in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and sanctions against Iran following the Mahsa Amini protests.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sudds, like many other Canadian Parliamentarians, was sanctioned by government of Russia after the Canadian government sanctioned many Russian officials close to Vladimir Putin over his Ukrainian invasion.

Awards

Kanata North Citizen of the Year (2012–2013) Forty Under 40 Award (2015) from the Ottawa Business Journal and Ottawa Board of Trade 40 Under 40 International Economic Development Professional Award (2016)

Electoral record

Federal

2018 Ottawa municipal election

Council candidate Vote % Jenna Sudds 5,298 46.68 Matt Muirhead 3,634 32.02 David Gourlay 2,335 20.57 Lorne Neufeldt 56 0.49 Philip Bloedow 27 0.24

Personal life Sudds is married and has three daughters.