Ali Ehsassi

Ali Cyrus Ehsassi is a Swiss-born Canadian politician of Iranian descent who has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Willowdale since 2015. He was briefly the minister of government transformation, public services and procurement from March 14, 2025, to May 13, 2025.

Biography

Ehsassi was born on April 24, 1970, in Geneva, Switzerland. At the age of three, his family relocated to New York City and by age 15, Ehsassi moved to North York, Ontario, with his family.
Ehsassi's extended family has extensive experience in international relations. His maternal great-grandfather was Iranian statesman Abdolhossein Teymourtash, who was the first Minister of Court during the Pahlavi dynasty. Ehsassi's father was also an Iranian diplomat and worked in Iran's embassy in Switzerland when he was born. His family left Iran during the Iranian Revolution.

Ehsassi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Master's of Science degree from the London School of Economics. He attended York University Osgoode Hall Law School having obtained his LL.B. Ehsassi then went on to Georgetown University Law School to pursue a masters of international trade and arbitration law, which he attended concurrently as a global and WTO fellow.

Ehsassi has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Willowdale since 2015. He was one of the first two Canadians of Iranian heritage elected to federal Parliament.
Ehsassi is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and other Crimes against Humanity, Co-Chair of the 416 Caucus, is on the Standing Committee for Citizenship and Immigration, and the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations.
He is also a member of several Parliamentary Associations and Interparliamentary groups such as the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association, Canada-China Legislative Association
Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group, Canada-United Kingdom Inter-Parliamentary Association, Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association and the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas.
He notably opposes the Iranian government and called for a public inquiry into potential Iranian interference in Canadian elections.
In the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, he endorsed Mark Carney. He joined Carney's 30th Canadian Ministry as Minister of Government Transformation, Public Services and Procurement in March. After being reelected in the 2025 federal election in April, Elhassi was not chosen to remain in cabinet after the May 13 shuffle.