Ali Ehsassi

Ali Cyrus Ehsassi^[1] MP (Persian: علی احساسی‎; born April 24, 1970) is a Swiss-born Canadian politician of Iranian descent who has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Willowdale since 2015.^[2] He was briefly the minister of government transformation, public services and procurement from March 14, 2025, to May 13, 2025.^[3]

The Honourable Ali Ehsassi PC MP
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs, and One Canadian Economy
Incumbent
Assumed office June 5, 2025
Minister of Government Transformation, Public Services and Procurement Receiver General for Canada
In office March 14, 2025 – May 13, 2025
Prime Minister	Mark Carney
Preceded by	Jean-Yves Duclos
Succeeded by	Joël Lightbound
Member of Parliament for Willowdale
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Chungsen Leung
Personal details
Born	(1970-04-24) April 24, 1970 (age 55) Geneva, Switzerland
Political party	Liberal
Relatives	Abdolhossein Teymourtash (great-grandfather)
Residence(s)	Lansing,[1] North York, Toronto, Ontario
Alma mater	University of Toronto Osgoode Hall Law School Georgetown University London School of Economics
Profession	Lawyer, International Law Executive of the Ontario Bar Association

Biography

Ehsassi was born on April 24, 1970, in Geneva, Switzerland. At the age of three, his family relocated to New York City and by age 15, Ehsassi moved to North York, Ontario, with his family.^{[4][better source needed]}

Ehsassi's extended family has extensive experience in international relations. His maternal great-grandfather was Iranian statesman Abdolhossein Teymourtash, who was the first Minister of Court during the Pahlavi dynasty. Ehsassi's father was also an Iranian diplomat and worked in Iran's embassy in Switzerland when he was born. His family left Iran during the Iranian Revolution.

Education

Ehsassi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Master's of Science degree from the London School of Economics^{[citation needed]}. He attended York University Osgoode Hall Law School having obtained his LL.B.^{[citation needed]} Ehsassi then went on to Georgetown University Law School to pursue a masters of international trade and arbitration law,^[4] which he attended concurrently as a global and WTO fellow.^{[citation needed][better source needed]}

Member of Parliament

Ehsassi has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Willowdale since 2015. He was one of the first two Canadians of Iranian heritage elected to federal Parliament.^[5]

Ehsassi is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and other Crimes against Humanity, Co-Chair of the 416 Caucus, is on the Standing Committee for Citizenship and Immigration, and the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations.

He is also a member of several Parliamentary Associations and Interparliamentary groups such as the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association, Canada-China Legislative Association Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group, Canada-United Kingdom Inter-Parliamentary Association, Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association and the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas.^[6]

He notably opposes the Iranian government and called for a public inquiry into potential Iranian interference in Canadian elections.^[7]

In the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, he endorsed Mark Carney.^[8] He joined Carney's 30th Canadian Ministry as Minister of Government Transformation, Public Services and Procurement in March. After being reelected in the 2025 federal election in April, Elhassi was not chosen to remain in cabinet after the May 13 shuffle.^[9]

Electoral record

v t e 2025 Canadian federal election: Willowdale
** Preliminary results — Not yet official **
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Ali Ehsassi	25,487	53.45	+2.26
	Conservative	James Lin	20,915	43.86	+10.00
	New Democratic	Christy Kheirallah	1,286	2.70	–7.59
Total valid votes/expense limit
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			47,688	60.63
Eligible voters			78,656
	Liberal hold		Swing		–3.87
Source: Elections Canada[10][11]

2021 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Ali Ehsassi	21,043	51.2	+2.2	$98,989.39
	Conservative	Daniel Lee	13,916	33.9	-2.3	$70,040.08
	New Democratic	Hal Berman	4,231	10.3	+1.0	$2,471.22
	People's	Al Wahab	1,102	2.7	+1.5	$1,784.10
	Green	Anna Gorka	812	2.0	-1.7	$1,462.34
Total valid votes/Expense limit			41,104	99.1	–	$108,952.94
Total rejected ballots			383	0.9
Turnout			41,487	54.8
Eligible voters			75,773
	Liberal hold		Swing		+2.3
Source: Elections Canada[12]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Willowdale
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Ali Ehsassi	22,282	49.0	-4.4	$103,868.26
	Conservative	Daniel Lee	16,452	36.2	-0.8	$82,193.67
	New Democratic	Leah Kalsi	4,231	9.3	+2.3	none listed
	Green	Sharolyn Vettese	1,671	3.7	+1.5	$0.00
	People's	Richard Hillier	563	1.2	-	$1,005.61
	Independent	Birinder Singh Ahluwalia	200	0.4	-0.1	none listed
	Independent	Shodja Ziaian	71	0.2	-	none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit			45,470	100.0
Total rejected ballots			410
Turnout			45,880	58.2
Eligible voters			78,809
	Liberal hold		Swing		-1.80
Source: Elections Canada[13][14]

2015 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Ali Ehsassi	24,519	53.4	+13.5	$89,151.49
	Conservative	Chungsen Leung	16,990	37.0	-4.7	$135,960.85
	New Democratic	Pouyan Tabasinejad	3,203	7.0	-11.4	$6,678.16
	Green	James Arruda	1,025	2.2	+1.81	$7,484.51
	Independent	Birinder Singh Ahluwalia	216	0.5	–	$39,117.06
Total valid votes/Expense limit			45,953	100.0		$207,725.33
Total rejected ballots			251	0.5	-0.1
Turnout			46,204	61.46	+3.06
Eligible voters			75,172
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+9.1
Source: Elections Canada[15][16]