Leslyn Lewis

Leslyn Ann Lewis (born December 2, 1970) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Haldimand—Norfolk since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, Lewis contested the party leadership in the leadership elections of 2020 and 2022, placing third both times. She was the first visible minority woman to run for the federal Conservative Party leadership. In a 2025 interview with Jordan Peterson, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre praised Lewis’s work as infrastructure critic and identified her among members of his front bench discussed as key figures in a future government.

Early life and education Leslyn Ann Lewis was born in Jamaica, and she immigrated to Canada at age five and grew up in East York, Ontario.

Lewis graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with high distinction from the University of Toronto as a student of Trinity College. She also holds a Master of Environmental Studies from York University with a concentration in business and environment from the Schulich School of Business, and a Juris Doctor and PhD in international law from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Legal career Lewis has practiced law since approximately 2000 and is the managing partner of Lewis Law in Scarborough, specializing in commercial litigation and international trade practice, with a focus on energy policy.

Political career

2015 federal election Lewis began her political career in the riding of Markham—Stouffville, where she was vice president and a primary fundraiser of the Conservative electoral district association while Paul Calandra was MP.

In the 2015 federal election Conservative leader Stephen Harper appointed her as a replacement candidate to run in the riding of Scarborough—Rouge Park only a few weeks before the vote after the previous Conservative candidate had been forced to withdraw following a scandal. An article in the National Post referred to Lewis as a “high-quality substitute". She placed second to Liberal candidate Gary Anandasangaree, receiving 13,587 votes.

2020 Conservative Party leadership candidate

In February 2020, Lewis was confirmed as an official leadership contestant for the Conservative Party of Canada, following the resignation of Andrew Scheer as leader in December 2019. Had she been successful, she would have been the first visible minority woman to lead any of the three major federal Canadian parties.

Drawing on her background in environmental studies, Lewis argued that economic prosperity, natural-resource development and environmental sustainability were compatible objectives. She supported environmentally responsible development of Canada’s natural resources, incentives for green technology and environmentally friendly business practices, environmental education and conservation, and tax credits for green home and business renovations. She opposed the federal carbon taxes. In 2021, former Reform Party leader Preston Manning identified Lewis, along with Michael Chong, among the “green Conservatives” in Parliament.

Lewis described her socially conservative values more broadly as encompassing human dignity, democracy, limited government involvement in personal and family life, and the ability of loving parents to raise their children according to their values. Among her social-policy proposals, Lewis supported protecting women from being forced to have an abortion and prohibiting sex-selective abortion, which she characterized as discriminatory toward unborn girls and a form of misogyny. She also opposed using foreign assistance to fund abortion in developing countries, arguing that Canada should not impose its social values on recipient countries.

She opposed carbon taxes and supports promoting green technology as an alternative policy.

Despite Lewis leading the second ballot on the popular vote, she was eliminated after placing third in points. Erin O'Toole was elected.

2021 federal election and 44th Parliament On August 25, 2020, Lewis announced that she would be running for a seat in the House of Commons in an undisclosed riding in the 2021 Canadian federal election. On September 15, 2020, she formally announced that she would be seeking the Conservative nomination in Haldimand—Norfolk. She was acclaimed as the Conservative candidate in the riding the next month. On September 20, 2021, Lewis won the seat for the Conservative Party in the 2021 Canadian federal election.

2022 Conservative Party leadership candidate

Lewis announced on March 8, 2022, that she would again run for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Lewis ran on a similar campaign agenda, championing personal and national sovereignty. Specifically, she advocated for health choice and medical privacy. She opposed federal COVID-19 mandates that required unvaccinated workers to go on unpaid leave and prohibited unvaccinated Canadians from travelling on federally regulated carriers including airplanes and trains. On September 10, 2022, Lewis lost to Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre on the first ballot, garnering 9.69% of the vote.

Shadow cabinet roles

In November 2021, Lewis was not appointed to the Conservative shadow cabinet by Erin O'Toole, but served on the House of Commons Standing Committee matter on Canadian Heritage where her work included access to broadband and internet services. In February 2022, she proposed expanding a committee study of hate symbols to include blackface, arguing that it’s historic association with chattel slavery made it a symbol of hate.

In October 2022, Lewis was appointed to Poilievre's shadow cabinet as infrastructure critic.

In July 2026, Lewis was made Conservative Shadow Minister for Digital Government and Artificial Intelligence.

Parliamentary Activities

In November 2022, Lewis announced the relaunch of the Canadian Israel Allies Caucus. Leslyn Lewis served as chair of the Canadian Parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus and was succeeded by John Williamson. The caucus is a member of the Israel Allies Foundation.

Lewis served on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities during the 44th and 45th Parliament. Her committee work included scrutiny of the Canada Infrastructure Bank and the committee’s investigation into McKinsey & Company’s role in the creation and early development of the bank. During the McKinsey study, Lewis moved to summon for we McKinsey global managing director Dominic Barton and other former McKinsey, CIB and government officials to testify. Barton subsequently appeared before the committee.

As infrastructure critic, Lewis emphasized affordability in federal infrastructure policy and undertook consultations with mayors across Canada examining the impact of federal carbon pricing on municipal budgets and her contention that increased municipal costs were ultimately passed on to residents through higher taxes, fees and the cost of local services. She also raised affordability and carbon-pricing costs in parliamentary committee hearings.The federal consumer carbon price was subsequently eliminated by the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney, effective April 1, 2025.

Lewis is a member of the advisory board of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) and has served on its planning committee.

Personal life Lewis has lived in Dunnville since 2020. She previously resided in Greenwood, within the city of Pickering in Ontario.

Awards In May 2019 she was awarded a Harry Jerome Award for Professional Excellence by the Black Business and Professional Association.

Electoral record

Federal elections

Conservative Party of Canada leadership elections