Randy Boissonnault

Randy Paul Andrew Boissonnault ( ; born July 14, 1970) is a Canadian politician who was the member of Parliament (MP) for Edmonton Centre. A member of the Liberal Party, he was initially elected to the House of Commons in the 2015 federal election and served until his defeat in 2019. He later went on to win back his seat in 2021. Boissonnault held several ministerial roles, including Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance from 2021 to 2023 and Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages from 2023 to 2024. He resigned from Cabinet following allegations that a business he owned sought government contracts and inconsistent claims about his Indigenous heritage. He was one of five openly gay MPs elected in 2015 and the first openly gay MP elected from Alberta. He stood down at the 2025 federal election.

Early life Boissonnault was born in the Franco-Albertan town of Morinville, Alberta, on July 14, 1970.

After graduating from the University of Alberta, Boissonault studied at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

Political career Boissonnault was elected in the 2015 election in the riding of Edmonton Centre, the first Liberal MP to win in the riding for almost a decade. The role involves advising Trudeau "on the development and co-ordination of the Government of Canada’s LGBTQ2 agenda" including protecting LGBT rights in Canada and addressing both present and historical discrimination.

On July 14, 2021, he was acclaimed as the Edmonton Centre Liberal candidate for the 2021 federal election. He won the election on September 20, 2021, defeating James Cumming, who had previously defeated him in 2019.

In Cabinet Boissonnault was appointed minister of tourism and associate minister of finance in a Cabinet shuffle following the 2021 federal election by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. According to court filings, Boissonnault resigned from his GHI directorship as required by parliamentary conflict of interest rules. However, Boissonnault discovered in April 2022, that Anderson had not filed paperwork to effect his full removal from federal and provincial business registries, so Boissonnault instructed his lawyers to do so. The award of this contract was not publicly-reported for seven months, at least two months later than the requirement to disclose under Canada's access laws. He received criticism for these dealings, which he blamed on Anderson in a social media statement. Anderson fell under police investigation after clients alleged fraud by GHI by pocketing payments without delivering product.

Boissonnault received further criticism after conflicting statements about his Indigenous heritage came under scrutiny. He has claimed in the past to be a "non-status adopted Cree" person, and that his family members belong to the Métis Nation of Alberta. Anderson also described GHI as Indigenous-owned in conversations with clients. In December 2024, he testified before the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs that he was not Indigenous.

Shortly after stepping away from cabinet, Boissoneault said that he had promised Trudeau to clear his name, and launched a lawsuit against Anderson, his former partner at GHI, for allegedly fabricating stories about him in relation to GHI.

Post-political career In December 2025, Boissonnault won a default judgement against Anderson, his former business partner at GHI. The judgement required a payment of $450,000 in damages and legal costs, the former partner to sign a statement that he had falsified statements about Boissoneault being involved in GHI after his reelection to Parliament in 2021, and imposed a permanent injunction against repeating such stories in the future. At the time of the judgement, Anderson's whereabouts were unknown.

Election results