Representative Kirsty Duncan Contact information

Kirsty Ellen Duncan PC MP, born on October 31, 1966, is a Canadian politician and renowned medical geographer hailing from Ontario, Canada. She currently serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Toronto riding of Etobicoke North and has held prominent positions such as deputy leader of the government in the House of Commons. Throughout her career, Duncan has made significant contributions as the minister of science and the minister of sport and persons with disabilities. In addition to her political accomplishments, she is also an accomplished author, having published a book that delves into her groundbreaking expedition in 1998 to uncover the cause of the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic.

Duncan’s journey began with her early life and education. After completing her education at Kipling Collegiate Institute in 1985 as an Ontario scholar, she pursued her academic interests in geography and anthropology at the University of Toronto. Her thirst for knowledge led her to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where she earned her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in geography in 1992. However, Duncan’s path to success was not without challenges. She endured emotional and psychological abuse during her time as a gymnast, facing body shaming and developing unhealthy eating habits. Despite these difficulties, her determination and resilience shone through, and she emerged as a leading academic in her field.

Duncan’s academic career flourished, and she served as an associate professor of Health Studies at the University of Toronto. She imparted knowledge on global environmental processes and medical geography to her students. Additionally, she held the position of research director for the AIC Institute of Corporate Citizenship at the Rotman School of Management. Duncan’s expertise and commitment to her field were recognized when she was selected to serve on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an esteemed organization that received the Nobel Prize in 2007.

During her tenure as a professor at the University of Windsor from 1993 to 2000, Duncan focused on teaching meteorology, climatology, and climate change. It was during this time that she developed a deep interest in the potential of a global flu crisis. Motivated by her desire to find a better flu vaccine, she embarked on a quest to investigate the cause of the devastating 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Despite her initial lack of knowledge about influenza, Duncan immersed herself in virology, dedicating six months to an intensive crash course. Her search for frozen samples of lung and brain tissue led her to consider Alaska, with its vast areas of permafrost, as a potential source. However, her efforts there proved fruitless.

After several years of relentless searching, Duncan discovered that seven miners who had succumbed to the Spanish flu were buried in the town of Longyearbyen, Norway, where permafrost would likely preserve the virus. She assembled a team of scientists, and in 1998, they embarked on an expedition to exhume the bodies. Although the expedition adhered to stringent biosafety protocols and showed respect for culturally sensitive sites, it did not yield the desired samples as the bodies were not preserved in permafrost.

Duncan chronicled her remarkable journey in her book, “Hunting the 1918 Flu: One Scientist’s Search for a Killer Virus,” published in 2003 by the University of Toronto Press. The book shed light on her scientific process and the expedition itself. Following the publication of her book, Duncan became a prominent voice on pandemics, eventually leading her to teach corporate social responsibility at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. In 2008, she published another book titled “Environment and Health: Protecting our Common Future.”

Throughout her career, Duncan continued to make significant contributions to academia. She served as an adjunct professor teaching

medical geography at the University of Toronto and global environmental processes at Royal Roads University. Additionally, she remained involved with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, further solidifying her expertise and impact in the field.

Duncan’s passion for public service led her to federal politics. In February 2008, she was appointed as the Liberal candidate for the vacant seat left by Roy Cullen. Duncan emerged victorious in the 2008 general election and subsequently secured re-election in the 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2021 general elections.

In November 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Duncan as the minister of science, with the task of establishing the position of chief science officer to replace the previously eliminated national science adviser role. Later, she took on the additional role of minister for sports and persons with disabilities. As the minister of science and sport, Duncan prioritized addressing abuse and harassment in sports. In 2019, she organized a joint declaration among provincial and territorial sports ministers to combat misconduct, and the federal budget allocated $30 million over five years to support these efforts.

Duncan’s dedication as the minister of science focused on promoting scientific freedom. She successfully reinstated the long-form census in 2016 and reinstated the position of chief scientific advisor. Under her leadership, the government invested $2.8 billion to renew Canada’s federal science laboratories, recognizing the crucial role of government researchers in the scientific community.

Following her re-election in 2019, Duncan assumed the role of deputy leader of the government in the House of Commons, while the sports portfolio was incorporated into the Canadian Heritage portfolio. After the 2021 federal election, she became the chair of the science and research committee. However, in January 2023, Duncan announced that she would be taking a medical leave due to a physical health challenge while continuing her role as an MP. The following day, she called for a public inquiry into abuse in Canadian sports and expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s response to her initiatives as the sports minister.