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Leslie Church

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Leslie Church
MP
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Jobs and Families
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 5, 2025
Serving with Annie Koutrakis
MinisterPatty Hajdu
Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour, Seniors, and Children and Youth
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 5, 2025
Member of Parliament
for Toronto—St. Paul's
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 28, 2025
Preceded byDon Stewart
Personal details
PartyLiberal
Websitelesliechurch.ca

Leslie Church MP is a Canadian politician and lawyer who has served as the Member of Parliament for Toronto–St. Paul's since the 2025 Canadian federal election. She is known for her extensive career in the public and private sectors, having held senior roles in federal government, public affairs and the technology sector.[1][2]

Early life and education

[edit]

Church grew up in Edmonton, Alberta.[1] She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Science & International Relations from the University of Alberta where she served on the Board of Governors and as President of the Student's Union.[1] She later earned a Master of Science in Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and was a Junior Fellow at Massey College.[1]

After serving as the Executive Director of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, Church was a member of the Government of Ontario's advisory panel for the 2004 Rae Report, alongside former premiers Bob Rae and Bill Davis, as well as economist Don Drummond.[3]

Career

[edit]

Church began her career practicing civil and commercial litigation at Torys LLP.[4]

In 2012, she joined Google as the Head of Communications and Public Affairs across the company’s four Canadian offices in Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Montreal and Ottawa.[5]

While working at Google, Church was named Vice-Chair of the Ontario government’s Open Government Engagement Team alongside Progressive Conservative MPP Norm Sterling, digital expert and academic David Eaves, and author Peter MacLeod.[6][7] In March 2014, they authored the Open By Default report advising that “open by default” principles should be a critical component of Ontario’s open government policy. While at Google, Church was also appointed to the Board of Directors for the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.[8]

In 2015, it was announced that Church would be leaving Google to take on the role of Chief of Staff to then Heritage Minister Melanie Joly in the newly formed Trudeau government.[1] In that role, she helped begin a significant modernization of Canadian cultural policies to support Canadian arts, culture, film and broadcasting, including Canada’s first creative export strategy and support for Indigenous languages.[9][10] Following her tenure in Joly's office, Church briefly served as Chief of Staff to Minister of Women and Gender Equality, Maryam Monsef, and then to Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][12]

In 2020, Church joined the Office of the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, first as Director of Policy and, subsequently, as Chief of Staff.[11][13] During this time, Church played a key role in the Government of Canada’s pandemic recovery, overseeing 3 federal budgets and working on key files like the introduction of national child care and dental care programs, Canada’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and economic collaboration with the Biden administration.[14][15] In 2022, Church was placed on a list of 61 Canadian premiers, journalists and senior government advisors who were banned from entering Russia by the Russian Foreign Ministry.[16] In 2023, she was credited by Politico[17] with developing the Canada-U.S. Energy Transformation Task Force, to advance cooperation between Canada and the United States on clean energy initiatives and supply chains.[18]

Leslie Church attending a press conference in Toronto in 2026.

Church held senior roles in past federal elections, as Deputy Director of Communications for the federal Liberal campaign during the 2019 Canadian federal election and as Director of Policy with responsibility for the Liberal Party platform for the 2021 Canadian federal election.[19]

Church ran in the 2024 Toronto—St. Paul's federal by-election, and lost to Conservative candidate Don Stewart.[20] She ran again in the 2025 Canadian federal election, and defeated Stewart, winning with 61.88% of the vote.[21] Following her victory, Church made comparisons between her two campaigns as "night and day," after the resignation of Justin Trudeau.[22]

On June 5, 2025, she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour, for Seniors, and for Children and Youth, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Jobs and Families (Persons with Disabilities) by Prime Minister Mark Carney.[23]

Personal life

[edit]

Church resides in Toronto, Ontario alongside her husband and three children.[24]

Electoral record

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2025 Canadian federal election: Toronto—St. Paul's
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalLeslie Church44,31361.88+12.37$110,688.39
ConservativeDon Stewart23,70833.11+6.60$126,234.47
New DemocraticBruce Levy2,5063.50−12.3916,112.01
GreenShane Philips5520.77−4.79none listed
People'sJoseph Frasca3290.46−2.04none listed
Marxist–LeninistDavid Gershuny1470.21N/Anone listed
Canadian FutureCynthia Valdron580.08N/Anone listed
Total valid votes/expense limit
Total rejected ballots
Turnout 71,61374.05
Eligible voters 96,713
Liberal notional hold Swing +2.89
Note: The changes in percentage value and swing were calculated using the redistributed results of the 2021 general election, not the 2024 by-election. The seat of Toronto—St. Paul's was won by the Liberals in 2021, but the seat was held by the Conservatives since 2024 following the by-election.
Source: Elections Canada[25][26][27]
Canadian federal by-election, June 24, 2024: Toronto—St. Paul's
Resignation of Carolyn Bennett
Party Candidate Votes%±%
ConservativeDon Stewart15,56542.11+16.81
LiberalLeslie Church14,93240.40-8.82
New DemocraticAmrit Parhar4,07311.02-5.81
GreenChristian Cullis1,0572.86-3.13
People'sDennis Wilson2380.64-2.02
IndependentJonathan Schachter970.26
IndependentMário Stocco820.22
Marxist–LeninistMeñico Turcotte590.16
RhinocerosSean Carson510.14
IndependentThibaud Mony510.14
IndependentGlen MacDonald420.11
IndependentMélodie Anderson390.11
IndependentDemetrios Karavas370.10
No AffiliationStephen Davis360.10
IndependentJordan Wong310.08
MarijuanaDanny Légaré300.08
IndependentAlex Banks270.07
CentristAli Mohiuddin260.07
IndependentJaël Champagne Gareau230.06
IndependentMichael Bednarski180.05
IndependentJohn Dale180.05
IndependentPierre Larochelle170.05
IndependentJoshua Bram Hieu Pham170.05
IndependentMarie-Hélène LeBel160.04
IndependentGuillaume Paradis160.04
IndependentDaniel Andrew Graham130.04
IndependentPierre Granger130.04
IndependentJulie St-Amand130.04
IndependentLoren Hicks120.03
IndependentMatéo Martin120.03
IndependentBlake Hamilton110.03
IndependentLine Bélanger100.02
IndependentCharles Currie100.03
IndependentCory Deville100.03
IndependentAlexandra Engering100.03
IndependentDaniel Stuckless100.03
IndependentErle Stanley Bowman90.02
IndependentAnthony Hamel90.02
IndependentPascal St-Amand90.02
IndependentSébastien CoRhino80.02
IndependentMark Dejewski80.02
IndependentDaniel Gagnon80.02
IndependentAgnieszka Marszalek80.02
IndependentOlivier Renaud80.02
IndependentPatrick Strzalkowski80.02
IndependentDonald Gagnon70.02
IndependentBenjamin Teichman70.02
IndependentMarthaLee Aykroyd60.02
IndependentMyriam Beaulieu60.02
IndependentKubera Desai60.02
IndependentDonovan Eckstrom60.02
IndependentKevin Krisa60.02
IndependentLorant Polya60.02
IndependentRoger Sherwood60.02
IndependentElliot Wand60.02
IndependentMichal Wieczorek60.02
IndependentMaxime Boivin50.01
IndependentMartin Acetaria Caesar Jubinville50.01
IndependentJean-Denis Parent Boudreault40.01
IndependentLéthycia-Félix Corriveau40.01
IndependentYsack Dupont40.01
IndependentDji-Pé Frazer40.01
IndependentZornitsa Halacheva40.01
IndependentAlain Lamontagne40.01
IndependentRenée Lemieux40.01
IndependentDanimal Preston40.01
IndependentSpencer Rocchi40.01
IndependentYogo Shimada40.01
IndependentDarcy Vanderwater40.01
IndependentMylène Bonneau30.01
IndependentGuillaume Gagnier-Michel30.01
IndependentKerri Hildebrandt30.01
IndependentKrzysztof Krzywinski30.01
IndependentConnie Lukawski30.01
IndependentWallace Richard Rowat30.01
IndependentGavin Vanderwater30.01
IndependentAlain Bourgault20.01
No AffiliationManon Marie Lili Desbiens20.01
IndependentGerrit Dogger20.01
IndependentSamuel Ducharme20.01
IndependentYusuf Kadir Nasihi20.01
IndependentWinston Neutel20.01
IndependentJacques Saintonge20.01
IndependentFelix-Antoine Hamel00.00
Total valid votes 36,962
Total rejected ballots
Turnout 43.52-21.96
Eligible voters 84,934
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +12.76

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Duggan, Kyle (2015-11-26). "Google's Leslie Church to head up heritage minister's office". iPolitics. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
  2. ↑ "Freeland's former chief of staff begins new chapter at Proof Strategies". iPolitics. 22 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "Ontario Newsroom". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
  4. ↑ Smith, Kevin (2025-01-22). "Freeland's former chief of staff begins new chapter at Proof Strategies". iPolitics. Retrieved 2026-08-28.
  5. ↑ "Google Canada executive Leslie Church joins HEQCO board – Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario". Retrieved 2026-08-28.
  6. ↑ "Archived websites - Archives of Ontario". Retrieved 2026-08-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ "Kathleen Wynne to launch 'open government' push to boost transparency". The Toronto Star. 2013-10-21. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2026-08-28.
  8. ↑ "Google Canada executive Leslie Church joins HEQCO board – Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario". Retrieved 2026-08-28.
  9. ↑ CAPACOA (2018-06-27). "Minister of Canadian Heritage Launches Creative Export Strategy". Canadian Association for the Performing Arts. Retrieved 2026-08-28.
  10. ↑ admin34 (2018-10-18). "Canada to Make First Languages Constitutional Right". Language Magazine. Retrieved 2026-08-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. 1 2 Ryckewaert, Laura (November 30, 2020). "This just in: staffing update for Freeland's finance ministerial team". The Hill Times.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ↑ "Membership of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI)". Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. 2026-02-02. Retrieved 2026-08-28.
  13. ↑ Ryckewaert, Laura (December 13, 2021). "Leslie Church now leading Deputy PM Freeland's office". The Hill Times.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ↑ Smith, Kevin (2023-03-09). "The team that builds the budget". iPolitics. Retrieved 2026-08-28.
  15. ↑ Vigliotti, Marco (2023-10-05). "Leslie Church leaving Freeland's office as she looks to run in Toronto-St. Paul's: sources". iPolitics. Retrieved 2026-08-28.
  16. ↑ Tunney, Catherine (April 21, 2022). "Premiers, mayors, head of CBC all banned from visiting Russia in latest round of sanctions". CBC News.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ↑ Lum, Zi-Ann; Taylor-Vaisey, Nick (2023-05-03). "Minister Wilkinson would like a word". POLITICO. Retrieved 2026-08-28.
  18. ↑ "Deputy Prime Minister co-chairs first meeting of Canada-U.S. Energy Transformation Task Force". Government of Canada. May 2, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ↑ "Trudeau requested briefing on one-time wealth tax weeks ahead of 2021 election campaign, documents show". The Globe and Mail. 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2026-08-28.
  20. ↑ "A Rematch in Toronto–St. Paul's". The Local. 22 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  21. ↑ "Toronto-St. Paul's flips from Conservatives to Liberals". CTV News. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  22. ↑ Taylor, Stephanie. "With Trudeau gone, it's like 'night and day' in a former Toronto Liberal fortress that turned Tory blue". National Post. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  23. ↑ "Prime Minister Carney announces new parliamentary secretary team". Prime Minister of Canada. 2025-06-04. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
  24. ↑ "Leslie Church – EHAC-ASEC". Retrieved 2026-08-28.
  25. ↑ "Voter information service". Elections Canada. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". Elections Canada. 29 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  27. ↑ "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
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