Jonathan Wilkinson

Wilkinson was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and grew up in Saskatoon.^[1] He was the former leader of the New Democratic Party's youth wing in Saskatchewan.^[1][2]

Wilkinson earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan in 1988,^[3] and was named the Prairies Rhodes Scholar the same year. He earned master's degrees in international relations, politics, and economics from the University of Oxford and McGill University.^[4]

Wilkinson was an advisor to Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow and served in the provincial civil service from 1991 to 1995. His work included a role as part of the Charlottetown Accord negotiations.^[5]

In 1995 Wilkinson joined the consulting firm Bain & Company at their Toronto branch.^[1] In 1999, he relocated to Vancouver to become the chief operating officer at QuestAir Technologies, a gas purification company. He was appointed President and chief executive officer in 2002.^[6]

In 2009, he became the senior vice-president for business development in Nexterra Systems, a biomass company.^[1] In 2011, Wilkinson became the chief executive officer of BQE Waters (formerly BioteQ Environmental Technologies)^[7] a water treatment company based in Vancouver.^[1][6]

Wilkinson re-entered politics as a member of the Liberal Party, securing the nomination for the riding of North Vancouver—Capilano.^[8] In the 2015 federal election he defeated incumbent Conservative Party candidate Andrew Saxton, receiving 56.7% of the vote.^[9] His victory came amidst a broader surge of Liberal support in Greater Vancouver during the 2015 federal election.^[10]

Wilkinson was re-elected in the 2019 federal election, where he again faced Conservative Party candidate Andrew Saxton. He received 42.9% of the vote, a reduced vote compared to the 2015 federal election.^[11]

In the 2021 Canadian federal election, Wilkinson was again re-elected, receiving 45.1% of the vote, a slight increase from his 2019 result.^[12]

Wilkinson was re-elected for a fourth term in the 2025 Canadian federal election. He received 59.8% of the vote, his highest result to date.^[13]

Wilkinson was first appointed to the federal cabinet on July 18, 2018, as Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard. Prior to this, he had served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna.^[14]

On November 20, 2019, he was appointed Minister of Environment and Climate Change.^[15] In 2020, he released Canada's plan to meet its 2030 emissions reduction targets, titled "A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy."^[16]

On October 26, 2021, Wilkinson was shuffled to the role of Minister of Natural Resources, succeeding Seamus O'Regan.^[17] His title was amended on July 26, 2023, when he became Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.^[18] Wilkinson retained this role in the first cabinet of Mark Carney.^[19]

As an MP, Wilkinson has been active in supporting the Iranian-Canadian community. During the 2022–2023 Iranian protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, Wilkinson joined several Canadian MPs in publicly sponsoring political prisoners detained by the Iranian government.^[20] Among those he sponsored were Dr. Hamid Ghare-Hassanlou and his wife Farzaneh Ghare-Hassanlou, Mohammad Rakhshani, and rapper Toomaj Salehi. Wilkinson stated that political sponsorship aims to increase international scrutiny and pressure for the release of individuals facing imprisonment or capital punishment in Iran.^[21][22]

In January 2025, Wilkinson announced he was considering running in the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election upon the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. However, he decided not to run, citing the importance of continuing his role as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.^[23] He subsequently supported Mark Carney.^[24]