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'''Jennifer O'Connell''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|MP}} (born 1983) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] politician, who was elected to represent the [[electoral district (Canada)|riding]] of [[Pickering—Uxbridge]] in the [[House of Commons of Canada]] in the [[2015 Canadian federal election|2015 federal election]].
'''Jennifer O'Connell''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|MP}} (born 1983) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] politician, who was elected to represent the [[electoral district (Canada)|riding]] of [[Pickering—Uxbridge]] in the [[House of Commons of Canada]] in the [[2015 Canadian federal election|2015 federal election]].


She currently serves as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions, and Intergovernmental Affairs (Cybersecurity). Since her election, O’Connell has been a member of several Standing House of Commons Committees, including Finance, Health, National Defence, Transport, and Public Safety and National Security<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/jennifer-oconnell(88925)/roles}}</ref>.
O'Connell attended the [[University of Toronto]], where she earned a degree in political science. She then clerked at a law firm specializing in labour relations, and became involved in municipal politics in [[Pickering, Ontario|Pickering]]. In 2006, she was elected to the city council representing Ward 1. She was re-elected in 2010 and 2014, and at the time of her election to the House of Commons was serving as the city's deputy mayor.<ref>[http://jenniferoconnell.liberal.ca/biography/ Meet Jennifer O'Connell], Liberal.ca</ref> In March 2014 she had been approached by the local Liberal riding association about serving as their candidate in the upcoming federal election, and initially declined, intending to focus on her re-election at the municipal level. Following the municipal elections in October 2014, she was approached again, and agreed to seek the nomination, which she won in January 2015.<ref>[http://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/5333913-pickering-councillor-jennifer-o-connell-wins-liberal-nomination/ Pickering Councillor Jennifer O'Connell wins Liberal nomination], ''The Pickering News Advertiser'', February 12, 2015.</ref>

== Biography ==

Jennifer O'Connell graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the [[University of Toronto]]. In 2006, she won a seat on Pickering City Council, becoming the youngest woman to be elected as a Councillor in the City’s history. She was elected in 2010 and 2014 as a Durham Regional Councillor, increasing her support in each election.

At the time of her election to the House of Commons in 2015, O’Connell was serving as Pickering’s Deputy Mayor [[Pickering, Ontario|Pickering]].<ref>[http://jenniferoconnell.liberal.ca/biography/ Meet Jennifer O'Connell], Liberal.ca</ref>.

== Municipal Politics
==

As a Councillor, O’Connell served on several boards and committees, including the Durham Region Finance and Administration Committee. She spent four years as Chair of Pickering’s Waterfront Committee and Vice-Chair of the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/parliamentary-secretaries/jennifer-oconnell}}</ref>.

On Council, O’Connell developed a reputation for her opposition to perceived wasteful spending by the City of Pickering and the Regional Municipality of Durham. In response to a Councillor’s expense scandal, she attempted to remove him as the Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Veridian Board<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.durhamregion.com/news/pickering-councillor-at-odds-over-code-of-conduct-accusations/article_843915f1-4a9d-5258-97e4-3d5401808791.html}}</ref>. She vocally opposed Pickering and Durham Region’s budgets when they funded capital expenditures through property tax increases or debt charges, often proposing her own list of expenditure cuts<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.durhamregion.com/news/city-taxes-to-rise-2-93-per-cent-in-pickering/article_dd319f1e-bed2-595e-81de-75a3134b6ce3.html). https://www.durhamregion.com/news/pickering-council-passes-budget/article_e09ea598-fc43-5c44-81cf-7d4392c275d8.html}}</ref>.

== Federal Politics
==

Following her victory in the 2014 municipal election, O’Connell was approached by the Liberal Party of Canada about running as the party’s candidate in the new riding of Pickering-Uxbridge. She won the party’s nomination and defeated Conservative Party of Canada MP, [[Corneliu Chisu]] in the 2015 Federal Election<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.durhamregion.com/news/pickering-councillor-jennifer-o-connell-wins-liberal-nomination/article_48235a3c-145a-59b5-be92-a8fd14edcf04.html}}</ref>.

After taking her seat in the House of Commons, O’Connell served on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/jennifer-oconnell(88925)/roles}}</ref>. In 2018, she worked with Conservative MP Erin O’Toole and the Minister of Veterans Affairs, Seamus O’Regan to secure the unanimous support of the House of Commons and the Senate to erect a tribute in Parliament to [[Samuel Simpson Sharpe|Lt.-Col. Samuel Sharpe]], a sitting MP who enlisted at the outbreak of the First World War<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.durhamregion.com/life/lt--col-samuel-sharpe-tribute-installed-in-parliament/article_bb8aa23d-b3f2-5a17-9d42-1eec4b0f7384.html}}</ref>. Sharpe committed suicide upon his return after battling “shell shock”, now understood to be the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

In 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed O’Connell as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance with a mandate to focus on Youth Economic Opportunity in advance of the federal budget<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/parliamentary-secretaries/jennifer-oconnell}}</ref>. When Finance Minister [[Bill Morneau]] presented the government’s 2019 budget in the House of Commons, it included a separate comprehensive budget document focused solely on youth issues entitled “Investing in the Future of Young Canadians”.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.budget.canada.ca/2019/docs/youth-jeunes/youth-jeunes-en.html}}</ref>

The budget lowered interest rates on student loans and provided an interest-free grace period for recent graduates and those facing health or family-related challenges . It also funded an expansion of work-integrated learning programs to create 40,000 new annual placements, including to the Business/Higher Education Roundtable for 44,000 additional opportunities by 2021<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.budget.canada.ca/2019/docs/youth-jeunes/youth-jeunes-en.html}}</ref>. It introduced the First Time Home Buyer Incentive, which provided eligible home buyers with the option to finance a portion of their first home purchase through a shared equity mortgage with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/consumers/home-buying/first-time-home-buyer-incentive}}</ref>.

After she was re-elected in the 2019 Federal Election, she was appointed to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP). At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Trudeau appointed O’Connell as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, where she provided updates and answered questions to the opposition in the House of Commons on the government’s response to the global pandemic<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/jennifer-oconnell(88925)/roles}}</ref>.

After she was re-elected again in the 2021 Federal Election, she was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, Dominic LeBlanc. After LeBlanc became the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions, and Intergovernmental Affairs in 2023, O’Connell continued as his Parliamentary Secretary, with a specific additional mandate focused on the government’s cybersecurity policy agenda
<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/jennifer-oconnell(88925)/roles}}</ref>.


==Electoral record==
==Electoral record==

Revision as of 19:47, 27 February 2024

Jennifer O'Connell
MP
Member of Parliament
for Pickering—Uxbridge
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byRiding Established
Pickering City and Regional Councilor
In office
2010–2015
Preceded byBonnie Littley
Succeeded byKevin Ashe
ConstituencyWard 1
Pickering City Councillor
In office
2006–2010
Preceded byKevin Ashe
Succeeded byKevin Ashe
ConstituencyWard 1
Personal details
Born1983 (age 40–41)
Political partyLiberal
ResidencePickering, Ontario
Alma materUniversity of Toronto

Jennifer O'Connell MP (born 1983) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Pickering—Uxbridge in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.

She currently serves as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions, and Intergovernmental Affairs (Cybersecurity). Since her election, O’Connell has been a member of several Standing House of Commons Committees, including Finance, Health, National Defence, Transport, and Public Safety and National Security[1].

Biography

Jennifer O'Connell graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Toronto. In 2006, she won a seat on Pickering City Council, becoming the youngest woman to be elected as a Councillor in the City’s history. She was elected in 2010 and 2014 as a Durham Regional Councillor, increasing her support in each election.

At the time of her election to the House of Commons in 2015, O’Connell was serving as Pickering’s Deputy Mayor Pickering.[2].

== Municipal Politics 

==

As a Councillor, O’Connell served on several boards and committees, including the Durham Region Finance and Administration Committee. She spent four years as Chair of Pickering’s Waterfront Committee and Vice-Chair of the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee[3].

On Council, O’Connell developed a reputation for her opposition to perceived wasteful spending by the City of Pickering and the Regional Municipality of Durham. In response to a Councillor’s expense scandal, she attempted to remove him as the Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Veridian Board[4]. She vocally opposed Pickering and Durham Region’s budgets when they funded capital expenditures through property tax increases or debt charges, often proposing her own list of expenditure cuts[5].

== Federal Politics 

==

Following her victory in the 2014 municipal election, O’Connell was approached by the Liberal Party of Canada about running as the party’s candidate in the new riding of Pickering-Uxbridge. She won the party’s nomination and defeated Conservative Party of Canada MP, Corneliu Chisu in the 2015 Federal Election[6].

After taking her seat in the House of Commons, O’Connell served on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance[7]. In 2018, she worked with Conservative MP Erin O’Toole and the Minister of Veterans Affairs, Seamus O’Regan to secure the unanimous support of the House of Commons and the Senate to erect a tribute in Parliament to Lt.-Col. Samuel Sharpe, a sitting MP who enlisted at the outbreak of the First World War[8]. Sharpe committed suicide upon his return after battling “shell shock”, now understood to be the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

In 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed O’Connell as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance with a mandate to focus on Youth Economic Opportunity in advance of the federal budget[9]. When Finance Minister Bill Morneau presented the government’s 2019 budget in the House of Commons, it included a separate comprehensive budget document focused solely on youth issues entitled “Investing in the Future of Young Canadians”.[10]

The budget lowered interest rates on student loans and provided an interest-free grace period for recent graduates and those facing health or family-related challenges . It also funded an expansion of work-integrated learning programs to create 40,000 new annual placements, including to the Business/Higher Education Roundtable for 44,000 additional opportunities by 2021[11]. It introduced the First Time Home Buyer Incentive, which provided eligible home buyers with the option to finance a portion of their first home purchase through a shared equity mortgage with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation[12].

After she was re-elected in the 2019 Federal Election, she was appointed to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP). At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Trudeau appointed O’Connell as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, where she provided updates and answered questions to the opposition in the House of Commons on the government’s response to the global pandemic[13].

After she was re-elected again in the 2021 Federal Election, she was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, Dominic LeBlanc. After LeBlanc became the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions, and Intergovernmental Affairs in 2023, O’Connell continued as his Parliamentary Secretary, with a specific additional mandate focused on the government’s cybersecurity policy agenda [14].

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Pickering—Uxbridge
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Jennifer O'Connell 32,387 51.0 +0.7 $79,048.14
Conservative Cyma Musarat 18,462 29.1 -9.1 $56,879.42
New Democratic Eileen Higdon 7,582 11.9 +2.7 $9,433.88
Green Peter Forint 3,799 6.0 +3.7 $7,976.00
People's Corneliu Chisu 1,265 2.0 $7,989.04
Total valid votes/expense limit 63,495 100.0
Total rejected ballots 407
Turnout 63,902 68.9
Eligible voters 92,699
Liberal hold Swing +4.90
Source: Elections Canada[15]
2015 Canadian federal election: Pickering—Uxbridge
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Jennifer O'Connell 29,757 50.1% +16.5 –
Conservative Corneliu Chisu 22,591 38.2% -7.8 –
New Democratic Pamela Downward 5,446 9.1% -6.6 –
Green Anthony Jordan Navarro 1,365 2.2% -2.3 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 59,159 100.0     $223,459.17
Total rejected ballots 222 0.3% –
Turnout 59,381 – –
Eligible voters 85,794
Source: Elections Canada[16][17][18]

References

  1. ^ https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/jennifer-oconnell(88925)/roles. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ Meet Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal.ca
  3. ^ https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/parliamentary-secretaries/jennifer-oconnell. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ https://www.durhamregion.com/news/pickering-councillor-at-odds-over-code-of-conduct-accusations/article_843915f1-4a9d-5258-97e4-3d5401808791.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ https://www.durhamregion.com/news/pickering-council-passes-budget/article_e09ea598-fc43-5c44-81cf-7d4392c275d8.html https://www.durhamregion.com/news/city-taxes-to-rise-2-93-per-cent-in-pickering/article_dd319f1e-bed2-595e-81de-75a3134b6ce3.html). https://www.durhamregion.com/news/pickering-council-passes-budget/article_e09ea598-fc43-5c44-81cf-7d4392c275d8.html. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ https://www.durhamregion.com/news/pickering-councillor-jennifer-o-connell-wins-liberal-nomination/article_48235a3c-145a-59b5-be92-a8fd14edcf04.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/jennifer-oconnell(88925)/roles. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ https://www.durhamregion.com/life/lt--col-samuel-sharpe-tribute-installed-in-parliament/article_bb8aa23d-b3f2-5a17-9d42-1eec4b0f7384.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/parliamentary-secretaries/jennifer-oconnell. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ^ https://www.budget.canada.ca/2019/docs/youth-jeunes/youth-jeunes-en.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ https://www.budget.canada.ca/2019/docs/youth-jeunes/youth-jeunes-en.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/consumers/home-buying/first-time-home-buyer-incentive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ^ https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/jennifer-oconnell(88925)/roles. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ^ https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/jennifer-oconnell(88925)/roles. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  16. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Pickering—Uxbridge, 30 September 2015
  17. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2015-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Jennifer O'Connell wins Pickering-Uxbridge riding for Liberals". durhamregion.com/.
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