The Honourable Carolyn Bennett is a former Member of Parliament who dedicated her career to public service and community involvement. She was first elected to the House of Commons in 1997 and was re-elected eight times, representing the Ontario riding of Toronto—St. Paul’s.
From 2021 to 2023, Dr. Bennett served as Canada’s first Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health. In this role, she worked in close collaboration with provinces and territories to ensure that health inequities were understood and addressed, including for Indigenous Peoples, Black Canadians, and vulnerable Canadians, and that mental health care was integrated into Canada’s universal health care system. She also worked on the implementation of the 9-8-8 resources for people struggling with mental illness and suicidal ideation, and to address substance abuse issues in Canada.
Between 2015 and 2021, Dr. Bennett served consecutively as Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs and as Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, guiding the government’s transformative work to renew its relationship with Indigenous Peoples.
Dr. Bennett was Canada’s first-ever Minister of State for Public Health, from 2003 to 2006. In this role, she established the Public Health Agency of Canada, appointed the first Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, and created the Public Health Network, which enabled all provinces and territories to work with the federal government to protect the health of Canadians.
Prior to her election in 1997, Dr. Bennett was a family physician and a founding partner of Bedford Medical Associates in Toronto. She was also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and was President of the Medical Staff Association of Women’s College Hospital. She is a long-time advocate for health, the environment, women’s involvement in politics, and persons with disabilities.
In 1986, she received the Royal Life Saving Society’s Service Cross, a Commonwealth Honour Award recognizing her more than 20 years of distinguished service. She is also the recipient of the first Equal Voice EVE Award, a National Award of Excellence for Outstanding Leadership and Dedication to Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion in Canada, and the first-ever Champion of Mental Health Award from the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health. In 2023, she was made a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
Dr. Bennett obtained her degree in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1974 and received her certification in family medicine in 1976. She was later awarded a Fellowship by the Canadian College of Family Physicians and the W. Victor Johnston Award recognizing continuous and enduring contributions to the speciality of family medicine.
She and her husband, Peter O’Brian, a Canadian film producer, have two sons.