| Honorific Prefix: | The Honourable |
| Randy Boissonnault | |
| Office: | Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages |
| Term Start: | July 26, 2023 |
| Term End: | November 20, 2024 |
| Predecessor: | Carla Qualtrough |
| Successor: | Ginette Petitpas Taylor |
| Primeminister: | Justin Trudeau |
| Office1: | Minister of Tourism Associate Minister of Finance |
| Term Start1: | October 26, 2021 |
| Term End1: | July 26, 2023 |
| Predecessor1: | Mona Fortier (as Associate Minister of Finance) |
| Successor1: | Soraya Martinez Ferrada |
| Primeminister1: | Justin Trudeau |
| Riding2: | Edmonton Centre |
| Parliament2: | Canadian |
| Term Start2: | September 20, 2021 |
| Predecessor2: | James Cumming |
| Term Start3: | October 19, 2015 |
| Term End3: | October 21, 2019 |
| Predecessor3: | Laurie Hawn |
| Successor3: | James Cumming |
| Office4: | Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on LGBTQ2 Issues |
| Primeminister4: | Justin Trudeau |
| Term Start4: | November 15, 2016 |
| Term End4: | September 11, 2019 |
| Predecessor4: | Position established |
| Successor4: | Vacant |
| Birth Name: | Randy Paul Andrew Boissonnault[1] |
| Birth Date: | 14 July 1970 |
| Birth Place: | Morinville, Alberta, Canada |
| Alma Mater: | University of Alberta Corpus Christi College, Oxford |
| Party: | Liberal |
Randy Paul Andrew Boissonnault (born July 14, 1970) is a Canadian politician who is 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, when he resigned from Cabinet.[2] [3] Notably, he was one of five openly gay MPs elected in 2015 and the first openly gay MP elected from Alberta.[4] [5]
Boissonnault was born in the Franco-Albertan town of Morinville, Alberta,[6] on July 14, 1970.
After graduating from the University of Alberta, Boissonault studied at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.[6] He subsequently worked as a lecturer at the University of Alberta's Campus Saint-Jean and as a journalist and political commentator for Radio-Canada and Les Affaires.[7]
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.[6]
Upon being sworn in as a MP, Boissonnault was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.[6]
On November 15, 2016, Boissonnault was named special advisor on LGBTQ2 issues to the Prime Minister.[8] 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.[8]
He was defeated in the 2019 election. On July 14, 2021, he was acclaimed as the Edmonton Centre Liberal candidate for the next Canadian federal election.[9] He won the election on September 20, 2021, defeating James Cumming, who had previously defeated him in 2019.
Boissonnault was appointed the minister of tourism and associate minister of finance in a Cabinet shuffle following the 2021 federal election.[10]
His last position in cabinet was serving as Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Official Languages following a cabinet shuffle in the summer of 2023. He is the first Franco-Albertan to be appointed to the position of Minister for Official Languages.
Boissonnault was part owner of Global Health Imports (GHI), a medical supply company. In January of 2024 GHI won a $28,300 contract from the Government of Canada.[11] 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. [12] He received criticism for these dealings, which he blamed on a business partner in a social media statement. He is currently under a probe by the House ethics committee, and the afformentioned business partner is under police investigation.
Boissonnault received further criticism after his conflicting statements about his Indigenous heritage came to light. He claimed to be a "non-status adopted Cree" person, but was revealed to have Métis ancestry through his adoptive great-grandmother. He sat in the Liberal Indigenous caucus, which he described as “allyship”. He resigned from cabinet on November 20, 2024, days after the allegations resurfaced.[13]