Mélanie Joly

Early Life and Education

Mélanie Joly was born in Montreal and grew up on the city’s north shore. Her mother was Laurette Racine and her father, Clément, was an accountant. He was also president of the Liberal Party’s Quebec finance committee. Joly’s stepmother, Carole-Marie Allard, served as a member of Parliament from 2000 to 2004.

Joly earned an Honours Bachelor of Law from the Université de Montréal in 2001. She won the highly competitive Chevening Scholarship (now Chevening-Briggs Scholarship). It is offered by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to encourage distinguished students to study in Great Britain. In 2003, Joly earned a Magister Juris in European and Comparative Law from the University of Oxford.

Early Career

Mélanie Joly began her legal career at the Montreal offices of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg and later Stikeman Elliott. She became nationally known when called as a defence attorney for Luc Lemay, a former president of Groupe Polygone, during the Gomery Commission. It investigated the Liberal government’s alleged corruption in the Sponsorship Scandal.

From 2009 to 2013, Joly was a managing partner at the public relations firm Cohn & Wolfe. She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Municipal Politics (2013–15)

In 2013, Mélanie Joly founded a municipal political party called Vrai changement pour Montréal (True Change for Montreal). She led an effort to elect party candidates to Montreal city council and ran for mayor. She promised to build a new rapid bus network, make tendering documents accessible to the public, and find shelter for vulnerable people. Joly surprised many observers when she received more than 122,000 votes and finished second to Denis Coderre.

In 2013, Joly chaired the Quebec advisory committee for Justin Trudeau’s bid to lead the Liberal Party of Canada. She also co-founded a political forum called Génération d’idées (Generation of Ideas) to encourage young people to become politically engaged. (See also Active Citizenship.)

In 2014, Joly wrote Changer les règles du jeu (Changing the Rules of the Game). The book argues that, to have more young people engage in politics and in their communities, the state must more clearly reflect the values and concerns of those aged 25 to 40.

MP and Cabinet Minister (2015–21)

When the federal election was called for 19 October 2015, the Liberal Party’s popular support was trailing the Conservatives and New Democrats. Mélanie Joly defeated three others to win the Liberal Party’s nomination in Ahuntsic-Cartierville. Her surprisingly strong finish in the recent mayoral race led the media to dub her a “star candidate.” Joly pledged to work to revive the region, which had been hurt by the loss of textile jobs. She also promised to build more community housing, make Canada a more progressive country and fight climate change. The Liberals won a majority government and Joly won her riding with 46.8 per cent of the vote.

Prime Minister Trudeau appointed Joly Minister of Canadian Heritage. Arts associations were pleased with her appointment because Joly had donated generously to, and volunteered in, the arts community. She had won the Arnold Edinborough Award from Business / Arts in 2010. The prime minister charged her with fulfilling 13 priorities. They included increasing the funding and effectiveness of CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board.

In 2018, a Cabinet shuffle saw Joly become Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie. She undertook efforts to ensure the availability of services in French and English while promoting bilingual and minority language opportunities online and in schools and cultural centres.

In the 2019 federal election, the Liberals were reduced to a minority government. Joly increased her plurality, however, winning re-election in Ahuntsic-Cartierville with 52.7 per cent of the vote. She returned to Cabinet, this time as Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages. During her tenure, the Canadian economy was shut down in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Her responsibilities included developing assistance programs for businesses hurt by the loss of income.

MP and Cabinet Minister (2021–25)

Canadians went to the polls on 20 September 2021. The Liberals won another minority government. Joly was re-elected with 52.4 per cent of the vote in her riding. She was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible for foreign policy, diplomatic relations and consular services around the world. Among myriad priorities, she oversaw Canada’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Joly’s department organized arms sales and financial assistance to Ukraine while imposing economic sanctions on more than 3,000 Russian citizens.

Global tensions rose and more people and world leaders questioned the ability of established multilateral organizations to maintain the post-Second World War rule-based order. In this climate, Joly emphasized that Canada had two foreign policy goals: to vigorously defend its sovereignty, and to diplomatically engage countries with different perspectives to prevent international conflicts.

By late 2024, the beleaguered Trudeau government trailed Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives by more than 20 points in the polls. There was a wave of resignations from both the Liberal caucus and Cabinet as many anticipated a bloodbath in the next election. But Joly remained unfailingly loyal to Trudeau, telling the New York Times in early December 2024, “He has my hundred percent support — period.” Joly was widely seen as a potential successor to Trudeau. But she ruled that out in short order, announcing four days after he announced his resignation that she would not pursue the party leadership.

MP and Cabinet Minister (2025–Present)

In March 2025, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader and prime minister. He called an election for 28 April and promised to respond vigorously to the threats to Canada’s economy and sovereignty being made by American president Donald Trump. The Liberals won another minority government. Joly was re-elected in Ahuntsic-Cartierville with the largest vote share of her career: 61 per cent.

Prime Minister Carney appointed Joly Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. In October, Joly announced the government’s strategy to respond to Trump-imposed tariffs that were damaging Canada’s economy. Joly spoke of changing procurement practices to ensure that the government would purchase goods and services from Canadian companies, supporting high tech and innovation companies, and helping universities attract the world’s most highly skilled science and research innovators.

Personal Life

Mélanie Joly married Félix Marzell, a designer and violin luthier in 2010.

In spring 2021, Joly revealed to the Toronto Star that she had undergone multiple in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments in an attempt to have a child. However, in December 2022, she disclosed that she had suffered a miscarriage shortly before Christmas in 2021. On top of that tragedy, her husband had contracted COVID-19 while visiting her at the hospital. Joly then caught it from him when she returned home to recover. “So the entire Christmas season was catastrophic,” she told the Star. “I really felt that the last year was the equivalent of a decade.” In December 2024, the New York Times reported that Joly had resumed IVF treatments.