The Honourable Catherine McKenna was elected as the first female Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre in 2015. Minister McKenna has earned a reputation as a skilled negotiator and tenacious community builder. A champion for Ottawa Centre, she is proud of what she has achieved for residents in her riding, including securing federal funding for cleaner transit, the new central library, and the Flora Footbridge. She also secured more summer jobs for students and new investments in affordable housing, and worked to help grow the local economy. Minister McKenna has worked to protect the Ottawa River, make local buildings more energy efficient, and create new green jobs for youth. She led efforts to put a price on pollution, phase out coal, reduce plastics in our oceans, and expand our national parks. She has also been an ardent promoter of innovation and investments in the clean tech sector to create good middle-class jobs for Canadians. Minister McKenna previously worked as a lawyer in Canada and Indonesia and as a negotiator with the United Nations mission in East Timor, and taught at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. She also co-founded the charitable organization Level Justice. Minister McKenna holds degrees from the University of Toronto, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and McGill University’s Faculty of Law. A mom of three, Minister McKenna is a long-time resident of the Glebe. Catherine is a long-time resident of Ottawa Centre, is a mother of three, and is an avid swimmer and canoeist. As the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Catherine is responsible for overseeing the historic Investing in Canada Plan designed to create economic growth, support a low-carbon, green economy and build inclusive communities. Her mandate includes leveraging private sector capital to build infrastructure in the public interest, whether that’s by working with the Canada Infrastructure Bank or addressing our country’s long-term infrastructure needs and priorities. As the former Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine helped negotiate the Paris Climate Agreement, negotiated Canada's first comprehensive climate plan with a national a price on pollution, announced a ban on single-use plastics by 2021, expanded parks and protected areas across Canada, and brought in the Impact Assessment Act to better protect the environment and build a stronger economy. As Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, she is working with communities across Canada to build thousands of projects, creating jobs across the country and building a cleaner, stronger and more inclusive country. Catherine previously worked as a lawyer in Canada and Indonesia, was a negotiator with the UN peacekeeping mission in East Timor, taught at the Munk School of Global Affairs and co-founded the charitable organization Level Justice. She earned degrees from the University of Toronto, the London School of Economics, and McGill Law and is called to the Ontario and New York bars.