Jane Philpott

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The Honourable Doctor
Jane Philpott
PC MP
Dr Jane Philpott.jpg
Minister of Health
Assumed office
November 4, 2015
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Preceded by Rona Ambrose
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Markham—Stouffville
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded by riding created
Personal details
Born Jane Little
(1960-11-23) November 23, 1960 (age 55)
Toronto, Ontario
Political party Liberal Party of Canada
Spouse(s) Pep Philpott[1]
Residence Stouffville, Ontario
Alma mater University of Western Ontario University of Toronto
University of Ottawa
Profession Physician
Religion Mennonite[2]

Jane Philpott, PC MP (born November 23, 1960) is a Canadian politician. She was first elected to represent the riding of Markham—Stouffville in the 2015 Canadian federal election and was appointed Minister of Health in the Cabinet of the 29th Canadian Ministry, headed by Justin Trudeau, on November 4, 2015.[3] She is a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Prior to entering politics she was an academic family physician known for promoting medical education in Africa, advocacy and fundraising related to HIV/AIDS, refugee advocacy, and her work on addressing the social determinants of health. She is the holder of numerous awards in the health care field.

Early life[edit]

Philpott was born in Toronto, Ontario. Her childhood was spent in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Princeton, New Jersey; and Hespeler, Ontario. Her father, Rev. Wallace Little, was a Presbyterian minister.[4] Her mother was a schoolteacher. She is the oldest of four daughters.

Education[edit]

Philpott attended high school at Galt Collegiate Institute.[5] She received her medical training at University of Western Ontario where she was granted a Doctor of Medicine degree, graduating cum laude, Faculty of Medicine in 1984.[6] She later earned her Masters of Public Health in Global Health Concentration in 2012 from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Philpott also completed a Tropical Medicine fellowship at Toronto General Hospital in Toronto, Ontario in 1986-87.[7] From 1984-86 she earned her Family Medicine Residency in Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa/Ottawa Civic Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario.[8] She holds a Certificate from The College of Family Physicians of Canada[9] and a Certificate in Tropical Medicine from Toronto General Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine. She is also a Member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.[10]

Medical career[edit]

Philpott was a family doctor in Markham-Stouffville from 1998 to 2015. She served as Chief of the Department of Family Medicine at Markham-Stouffville Hospital from 2008 to 2014. She is an Associate Professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine.[8] She was the Lead Physician of the Health For All Family Health Team in Markham, Ontario.[11] She worked in Niger in West Africa from 1989-1998 with a faith-based non-governmental organization, where she practiced general medicine and developed a training program for village health workers. She returned to Niger in 2005 with Médecins sans Frontières during a food crisis.[7][12] She was the Family Medicine lead in the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration (TAAAC) from 2008 to 2014. In this capacity she helped colleagues at Addis Ababa University to develop the first training program for Family Medicine in Ethiopia that began in 2013.[13]

HIV/AIDS advocacy work[edit]

Coin for Every Country[edit]

"A Coin for Every Country" was an educational campaign geared to intermediate level classrooms to raise funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Philpott was a founder of this initiative, that was delivered through schools in the York Region District School Board.[14]

Give a Day to World AIDS[edit]

Philpott is the founder of the "Give a Day to World AIDS" movement which started in 2004 as a way to engage Canadians in responding to HIV.[12] Since 2004, Give a Day has grown in the medical, legal and business communities and, as of 2014, had raised over 4 million dollars to help those affected by HIV in Africa.[15][16]

Refugee advocacy[edit]

Philpott has been an advocate for Canada to give greater attention to the rights of refugees, particularly in respect of the health care afforded to them. In an article in the Toronto Star in 2014 she argued that "the Conservative government's cuts to refugee health care are 'cruel and unusual.' ".[17] During the 2015 Canadian federal election campaign she was frequently called upon by the Liberal Party of Canada to be a spokesperson on the subject on the CBC programme Power & Politics.[18] She was critical of the Conservative government's lack of action and the returning of more than $350 million to the federal treasury in unspent funds over a three-year period, a sum that included millions for processing refugee applications and helping asylum-seekers settle into Canada.[19] Following the death of Alan Kurdi she joined Marc Garneau in calling for increased refugee settlement in Canada by the end of 2015.[20]

TEDxStouffville[edit]

Philpott is a co-curator of TEDxStouffville founded in 2012 with Dr. Eileen Nicolle. The TEDxStouffville committee, a collaboration between Health for All Family Health Team, Markham Stouffville Hospital, the University of Toronto and residents of the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, develops its program with live speakers on the theme of Social Determinants of Health. TEDxStouffville videos are posted online.[21]

Move to politics[edit]

Jane Philpott was acclaimed as the Federal Liberal Candidate in the new riding of Markham—Stouffville in April 2014.[22] In the 2015 Canadian federal election she defeated the incumbent (from the redistributed riding of Oak Ridges—Markham), Paul Calandra. When asked by Campbell Clark of the Globe and Mail why she would move from Medicine to Politics she quoted Rudolf Virchow, the noted German physician who had a less successful political career, to explain why she sees economics and environment as key to human health, and chose to run for office: “Politics is nothing but medicine writ large.”[23]

Minister of Health[edit]

Philpott was appointed Minister of Health in the Cabinet of the 29th Canadian Ministry, headed by Justin Trudeau, on November 4, 2015.[24] She is the first medical doctor to hold the post.[25]

Cabinet committees[edit]

Philpott was also appointed to the following Cabinet Committees on November 4, 2015.

  • Treasury Board (Member)
  • Cabinet Committee on Inclusive Growth, Opportunities and Innovation (Chair). This committee considers strategies designed to promote inclusive economic growth, opportunity, employment and social security, including sectoral strategies and initiatives.
  • Cabinet Committee on Intelligence and Emergency Management (Member). This committee meets “as required to consider intelligence reports and priorities and to coordinate and manage responses to public emergencies and national security incidents.” It regularly reviews the state of Canadian emergency readiness.[26][27]

On November 9, 2015 she was appointed to chair a cabinet sub-committee to co-ordinate government efforts to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada through government sponsorship by the end of 2015.[28]

Electoral record[edit]

Canadian federal election, 2015: Markham—Stouffville
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Liberal Jane Philpott 29,416 49.2% +20.2 –
Conservative Paul Calandra 25,565 42.8% -7.6 –
New Democratic Gregory Hines 3,647 6.1% -10.9 –
Green Myles O'Brien 1,145 1.9% -0.8 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 59,773 100.0     $225,802.37
Total rejected ballots 189
Turnout 59,962 68.6%
Eligible voters 87,460
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +13.9%
Source: Elections Canada[29][30]
2011 federal election redistributed results[31]
Party Vote  %
  Conservative 23,820 50.49
  Liberal 13,662 28.96
  New Democratic 8,010 16.98
  Green 1,284 2.72
  Others 406 0.86

Awards and honours[edit]

  • 2014 Integrated Medical Education Award for Excellence in Community-Based Teaching (Clinic/Office/Practice), Department of Family & Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto[32]
  • 2013 May Cohen Equity, Diversity, and Gender Award, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada[33]
  • 2013 Yves Talbot Award for Excellence in Global Health Leadership, University of Toronto, Department of Family and Community Medicine. (Distinction) [34]
  • 2012 Wilfred H. McKinnon Palmer Academic Award, University of Toronto. (Distinction)
  • 2011 Community Service Award, University of Western Ontario, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. (Distinction)[35]
  • 2010 Janus Scholarship for Global Health, College of Family Physicians of Canada[36]
  • 2009 Casey Award, Casey House, Toronto. (Distinction)[37][38]
  • 2009 Honorary Member, Federation of Medical Women of Canada. (Distinction)[39]
  • 2008 Stairway of Excellence Award, Galt Collegiate Institute, Cambridge, Ontario. (Distinction)[5]
  • 2007 Everyday Hero, Global National Television. (Distinction)[40]

Published works[edit]

Personal life[edit]

Philpott lives in Stouffville, Ontario. Her husband is Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio journalist, Pep Philpott.[12] They have four children, one of whom, Bethany, attends McMaster University Medical School.[41] She (Jane Philpott) attends the Community Mennonite Church in Stouffville, Ontario where she is a song leader for the congregation.[42][43][44]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Give A Day Founder – Dr. Jane Philpott". Give A Day. Retrieved 7 November 2015. 
  2. ^ "Your Candidate for Markham-Stouffville". Liberal Party of Canada. Retrieved 19 October 2015. 
  3. ^ Laura Fraser, "Rookie GTA MP Jane Philpott takes on health portfolio," CBC News, Nov. 4, 2015.
  4. ^ "Wallace Little fonds". The Presbyterian Church in Canada. 
  5. ^ a b "Alumni honoured in school halls of fame". Cambridge Times. 
  6. ^ "Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry". Retrieved 30 October 2014. 
  7. ^ a b "DFCM Global Health Program Faculty, Staff & Collaborators". University of Toronto. 
  8. ^ a b "Ontario Multicultural Health Applied Research Network - Biography Page for Dr. Jane Philpott". 
  9. ^ "College of Family Physicians of Canada Membership List". Retrieved 30 October 2014. 
  10. ^ "College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario register". Retrieved 30 October 2014. 
  11. ^ "CBC Radio listeners learn about FHTs from Dr. Jane Philpott". Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario. 
  12. ^ a b c "Would you give a day's pay to save a life? - Interview with Dr. Philpott". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 30 October 2014. ; "Dignity in the face of adversity". Presbyterian Record. Retrieved 22 January 2015. 
  13. ^ "Training family physicians in Ethiopia". University of Toronto News. 
  14. ^ A Coin for Every Country. Retrieved 2 December 2014. 
  15. ^ "Give a Day to World AIDS". Retrieved 13 October 2014. 
  16. ^ "Five Inspiring women who are changing global health". Retrieved 21 January 2015. 
  17. ^ "Cuts to refugee health cruelly harm the most vulnerable". Toronto Star. Retrieved 29 September 2015. 
  18. ^ "Power & Politics". CBC player. Retrieved 29 September 2015. 
  19. ^ "$350 million for refugees and immigration returned to government, unspent". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 29 September 2015. 
  20. ^ "NDP, Liberals call for increased refugee settlement in Canada by year's end". CTV News. Retrieved 29 September 2015. 
  21. ^ "TEDxStouffville". Retrieved 13 October 2014. 
  22. ^ "Liberals acclaim candidate in Markham–Stouffville federal riding". Retrieved 13 October 2014. 
  23. ^ "Liberal newcomers could bring wide-ranging experience to Trudeau's cabinet". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2015. 
  24. ^ "Full list of Justin Trudeau's cabinet". CBC News. 
  25. ^ "Jane Philpott, first MD to be named health minister, on mission to help poor". National Post. Retrieved 5 November 2015. 
  26. ^ "CABINET COMMITTEE MANDATE AND MEMBERSHIP" (PDF). Prime Minister of Canada. Retrieved 5 November 2015. 
  27. ^ "Cabinet committees are where Ottawa’s real power lies". National Post. Retrieved 6 November 2015. 
  28. ^ "Syrian refugee crisis: Canada strikes committee to fast track resettlement". CBC News. Retrieved 9 November 2015. 
  29. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Markham—Stouffville, 30 September 2015; Elections Canada, Electoral Districts, accessed Oct. 20, 2015.
  30. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
  31. ^ Pundits' Guide to Canadian Elections
  32. ^ "2014 IME Award Recipients". Retrieved 13 October 2014. 
  33. ^ "Communiqué: AFMC awards for outstanding contributions to medical education in Canada". Retrieved 13 October 2014. 
  34. ^ "The DFCM Awards" (PDF). Retrieved 13 October 2014. 
  35. ^ "UofT Faculty of Medicine 2012 Research Award Recipients" (PDF). Retrieved 13 October 2014. 
  36. ^ "CPD SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FAMILY PHYSICIANS" (PDF). Retrieved 13 October 2014. 
  37. ^ "The Casey Awards". Retrieved 13 October 2014. 
  38. ^ "Jane Philpott - The Casey Awards 2009". Retrieved 13 October 2014. 
  39. ^ "Federation of Medical Women of Canada". Retrieved 13 October 2014. 
  40. ^ "Global National's Everyday Hero". canada.com. 
  41. ^ Smith, Joanna. "Health Minister Jane Philpott on lessons for her med student daughter". Toronto Star. Toronto Star. Retrieved 7 November 2015. 
  42. ^ "Candidate Profile: Jane Philpott". yorkregion.com. 
  43. ^ "The Honourable Jane Philpott MP". Government of Canada. 
  44. ^ "Philpott named new Health Minister". Canadian Mennonite. Retrieved 5 November 2015. 

External links[edit]

29th Ministry – Cabinet of Justin Trudeau
Cabinet Post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Rona Ambrose Minister of Health
November 4, 2015-present		 Incumbent
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