Michael Ignatieff

Michael Ignatieff is the Senior Resident of Massey College and a Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. He is the former Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, the Leader of the Official Opposition, and the Member of Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore.

Before entering politics in 2005, Michael served as Director of the Carr Centre for Human Rights at Harvard University and taught at leading universities around the globe. He has been a proud contributor to international public policy for nearly four decades, as an author, broadcaster, and advisor.

In 1965, as a Young Liberal, Michael knocked on doors for Lester B. Pearson. In the election of 1968, he travelled across the country with Pierre Trudeau, as his national youth organizer. In March 2005, Michael delivered the keynote address at the Biennial Liberal Convention in Ottawa and later that year became the Liberal candidate for Etobicoke-Lakeshore. He was elected as a Member of Parliament in January 2006. In December 2006 he was appointed as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, serving in this capacity for nearly two years. He became the Leader of the Liberal Party on December 10, 2008.

Michael’s commitment to Liberal values has defined him throughout his career, from his undergraduate years at the University of Toronto to his graduate work at Oxford and Harvard to his first teaching job at the University of British Columbia and the long career that followed. Michael has been a leading advocate for human rights, democracy, and international law, and has been recognized around the world for his leadership and scholarship.

Since first being elected to Parliament in 2006, he’s travelled to every corner of the country, listening to Canadians’ stories and talking to them about their hopes and dreams for their children and grandchildren. It’s the same approach Michael has taken during his long career as a scholar, writer, and journalist, and as one of Canada’s leading voices on the world stage.