Known as a changemaker with impeccable integrity, the Honourable Jane Philpott lives to serve the greater public good. Her desire to create a healthier, more just world has been the driving force throughout her career which has seen her work as a family doctor in West Africa and Ontario, as a Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister, a health sciences academic, and a daring leader. As a driving force behind the national conversation on improving access to primary health care, she delivers compelling talks on building a healthier future for Canada.
From 2015-2019, Philpott served as Canada’s Minister of Health, Minister of Indigenous Services, President of the Treasury Board, and Minister of Digital Government. During this time, she played a lead role in policies that shaped Canada on a national level, including bringing Syrian refugees to Canada, legislating Medical Assistance in Dying, negotiating a health accord with resources for mental health and home care, improving infrastructure for First Nations to provide clean water on reserves, and reforming child welfare to reduce the over-apprehension of Indigenous children.
Today, Philpott is the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Director of the School of Medicine at Queen’s University. She is also the CEO of the Southeastern Ontario Academic Medical Organization. Prior to politics, Philpott spent the first decade of her medical career in Niger, West Africa. She was also a family doctor for 17 years and served as the Chief of Family Medicine at Markham Stouffville Hospital in 2008.
