Ahmed Hussen

Hussen was born and raised in Mogadishu, Somalia. He has five older siblings and his father was a long-distance trucker. Hussen learned to speak English there from a cousin. He and his family left Mogadishu after the Somali Civil War reached their neighbourhood. He described his experience in the civil war: "I was 15 years old when Somalia was going through a civil war. There were chaos and violence everywhere. My parents and I decided that we had no choice but to flee. We gathered a few belongings, got on the back of a big truck with a few other families, left Somalia never to return". They lived for a period of time in Kenya, in a camp in Mombasa and several apartments in Nairobi.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/world/canada/ahmed-hussen-canada-immigration-minister.html|newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 6, 2017 |title=In Canada, an Immigration Minister Who Himself Is a Refugee|first=Catherine |last=Porter |access-date=September 8, 2017}}{{cite web|title=Community KnewZ, Volume 1, Issue 1, 1 April 2013|url=http://rpni.ca/cms-assets/documents/109155-471848.april-2013-newsletter-final-web.pdf|publisher=RPNI|access-date=September 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111221644/http://rpni.ca/cms-assets/documents/109155-471848.april-2013-newsletter-final-web.pdf|archive-date=January 11, 2014|url-status=usurped}}

Two years after leaving Mogadishu, Hussen moved to Canada as a refugee, when his parents bought him an airplane ticket to Toronto, where two of his brothers had already moved. He initially resided with a cousin in Hamilton, and moved to Toronto in 1994, where he settled in Regent Park in 1996.

Hussen completed secondary school in Hamilton. Due to a Canadian government policy that delayed granting permanent residency status to emigrants from Somalia, he had to decline three athletic running scholarships to universities in the United States. Hussen eventually attended York University, where he earned a BA in History in 2002.{{cite web|title=Ahmed Hussen|url=http://americanislamicleadership.org/ahmedhussen|publisher=American Islamic Leadership Coalition|access-date=January 11, 2014|archive-date=January 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116204412/http://americanislamicleadership.org/ahmedhussen|url-status=dead}} Having received a law degree from the University of Ottawa, and passed the bar exam in September 2012, he specialized in the practice of immigration and criminal law.{{cite news|title=Only a fool would underestimate Justin Trudeau in this year's federal election (archive.org)|url=http://leadersandlegacies.com/2015/01/24/only-a-fool-would-underestimate-justin-trudeau-in-this-years-federal-election/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703000924/http://leadersandlegacies.com/2015/01/24/only-a-fool-would-underestimate-justin-trudeau-in-this-years-federal-election/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 3, 2015|access-date=April 5, 2018|agency=Leaders and Legacies|date=January 24, 2015}}

Hussen is married to Ebyan Farah, a fellow Somali-Canadian refugee. Together, they have three sons.

Hussen began his career in public service and politics in the fall of 2001. He started out doing volunteer work in Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He was hired the following year as an assistant to Ontario Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty, then-leader of the province's Official Opposition. Hussen was promoted to special assistant, concurrent with McGuinty's 2003 election as the premier of Ontario. He held this new post for two years, during which he was in charge of issues management, policy and communications.

Hussen later worked with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Youth Engaged in National Security Issues committee.

He also founded the Regent Park Community Council. The representative body facilitated a $500 million revitalization and redevelopment project in Regent Park, the largest such initiative in the country. During the project's implementation,{{cite web|url=http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/department/minister/index.asp|title=The Honourable Ahmed D. Hussen MP|date=February 22, 2017|website=Government of Canada|access-date=April 25, 2017}} he was tasked with consulting with and protecting the interests of over 15,000 residents.

Hussen currently serves as the national president of the Canadian Somali Congress (CSC).{{cite web|title=National President, Canadian Somali Congress|url=http://www.yatedo.com/p/Ahmed+Hussen/normal/0309556575bab017cf11b4b0d0b2911e|publisher=Yatedo|access-date=August 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113104641/http://www.yatedo.com/p/Ahmed+Hussen/normal/0309556575bab017cf11b4b0d0b2911e|archive-date=January 13, 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=About Us |url=http://www.canadiansomalicongress.com/html/aboutus.html |publisher=Canadian Somali Congress |access-date=August 31, 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831042425/http://canadiansomalicongress.com/html/aboutus.html |archive-date=August 31, 2013 }} Under his leadership, the CSC partnered with the Canadian International Peace Project and Canadian Jewish Congress to establish the Canadian Somali-Jewish Mentorship Project. It is the first national mentoring and development project between a sizable Muslim community and the Jewish community.

In May 2010, the Canadian Somali Congress and Canadian International Peace Project also partnered with the Global Enrichment Foundation to launch the Somali Women Scholarship Program. Hussen acts as the program's founding director.{{cite web|title=Somali Women Scholarship Program|date=May 18, 2010 |url=http://canadianinternationalpeaceproject.blogspot.ca/2010/05/news-release-cipps-mark-persaud-and.html|publisher=Canadian International Peace Project|access-date=January 11, 2014}}

Until 2012, Hussen served as a sitting member of the Harper government's Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security. Established in 2005, the panel brought together prominent members from a number of Canada's cultural communities and government officials in order to discuss policy and program issues, and to promote dialogue and strengthen understanding between the national authorities and its electorate.{{cite web|title=Harper Government Reaches Out to Canadian Communities|url=http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/nws/nws-rlss/2012/20120611-3-eng.aspx|publisher=Public Safety Canada|access-date=January 11, 2014}}{{cite news|title=Harper Government Reaches Out to Canadian Communities|agency=Proquest Newspapers|publisher=Public Safety Canada|date=June 11, 2012|id={{ProQuest|1019871597}}}}

In December 2014, Hussen presented himself as a candidate for a Liberal Party of Canada seat in the riding of York South—Weston for the 42nd Canadian federal election.{{cite web|title=Ahmed Hussen - Liberal Nomination - York South Weston|url=http://voteahmed.com/|publisher=Ahmed Hussen|access-date=December 9, 2014}} He won the nomination in a field of six aspirants.{{cite web|title=Ahmed Hussen wins YSW Liberal nomination |url=http://www.westonweb.ca/2014/12/08/ahmed-hussen-wins-ysw-liberal-nomination/ |publisher=WestonWeb |access-date=December 9, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213070343/http://www.westonweb.ca/2014/12/08/ahmed-hussen-wins-ysw-liberal-nomination/ |archive-date=December 13, 2014 }} The victory makes Hussen the first Somali-Canadian elected to the House of Commons.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-s-ahmed-hussen-1st-somali-canadian-elected-to-parliament-1.3281260 cbc.ca: ""], January 10, 2017

On January 10, 2017, Hussen was appointed minister of immigration as part of a Cabinet shuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.{{cite web |url=https://ca.news.yahoo.com/chrystia-freeland-becomes-foreign-minister-as-trudeau-shuffles-cabinet-181805559.html | title=Chrystia Freeland becomes foreign minister as Trudeau shuffles cabinet | publisher=CBC News | date=January 10, 2017 | access-date=January 10, 2017}} The nomination makes Hussen the first Somali-Canadian to serve in the government cabinet.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-government-cabinet-shuffle-2017-1.3928723|title=Freeland promoted to Foreign Affairs, McCallum goes to China in cabinet shuffle|newspaper=CBC News|access-date=January 10, 2017}}

As immigration minister, Hussen announced on 2017 the Government of Canada will welcome nearly one million immigrants over the next three years. The number of migrants would climb to 310,000 in 2018, up from 300,000 in 2017. That number was to rise to 330,000 in 2019 then 340,000 in 2020.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/immigration-canada-2018-1.4371146|title=Canada to admit nearly 1 million immigrants over next 3 years|date=November 1, 2017|last1=Harris|first1=Kathleen|last2=Hall|first2=Chris|last3=Zimonjic|first3=Peter|work=CBC News|access-date=26 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/punjabi/en/article/2017/11/10/canada-take-1-million-immigrants-2020|title=Canada to take 1 million immigrants by 2020|date=November 10, 2017|last=McCarthy|first=Preeti|work=SBS|access-date=January 26, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-02/canada-to-admit-980-000-new-permanent-residents-over-three-years|title=Canada to Admit Almost a Million Immigrants Over Next Three Years|date=November 2, 2017|last=Lam|first=Eric|work=Bloomberg|access-date=January 26, 2019}}

On October 31, 2018, Hussen announced that the Government of Canada had updated its multi-year immigration levels plan, which would see the number of new immigrants in Canada rise to 350,000 by 2021. This plan was to see immigration levels rise by 40,000 more than Canada's target of 310,000 immigrants in 2018.{{cite web|author=Politics |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/canada-to-increase-annual-immigration-admissions-to-350-000-by-2021-1.4157933 |title=Canada to increase annual immigration admissions to 350,000 by 2021 | CTV News |publisher=Ctvnews.ca |date= October 31, 2018|accessdate=2022-04-05}} The planned increases were set to reflect needs in the economic class of immigration to aid with Canada's labour shortages, as well as in humanitarian streams of immigration.{{cite web|author=Please select all that apply |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/notices/supplementary-immigration-levels-2019.html |title=Notice – Supplementary Information 2019-2021 Immigration Levels Plan |publisher=Canada.ca |date=2018-10-31 |accessdate=2022-04-05}}

In a 2018, Angus Reid Institute poll found that Hussen is one of the least popular ministers in Trudeau's cabinet.{{cite web|url=http://angusreid.org/cabinet-performance-2018/|title=Federal Cabinet Ratings: A happy new year for Freeland; Hussen, Sohi face cold winter|date=December 14, 2018|publisher=Angus Reid Institute|access-date=January 27, 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46625120|title=Justin Trudeau: Three challenges facing him in 2019|date=January 3, 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=January 27, 2019}}

Hussen was shuffled to the families, children and social development portfolio following the 2019 federal election.

After the Liberals won the 2021 federal election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kept Hussen in his cabinet, moving him to the housing and diversity and inclusion file.{{Cite web |date=2021-12-14 |title=Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion Mandate Letter |url=https://pm.gc.ca/en/mandate-letters/2021/12/16/minister-housing-and-diversity-and-inclusion-mandate-letter |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=Prime Minister of Canada |language=en}} Hussain owns a rental property in Ottawa, which has raised suggestions of conflict of interest.{{cite web | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8754119/canada-budget-2022-home-prices/ | title=Roughly one-third of Liberal cabinet ministers own rental, investment real estate: Records - National | Globalnews.ca }}{{cite web | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8820821/canada-housing-minister-calls-criticism-misinformation/ | title=Housing minister accuses critics of 'misinformation' when pressed on rising home prices - National | Globalnews.ca }}

In May 2022, Hussein accused critics of his record in tackling the housing crisis of "misinformation and disinformation".

In August 2022, it was discovered that Hussen's department had given a $133,000 grant to the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC), an organization whose senior consultant has a history of anti-semitism. Fellow Liberal MP Anthony Housefather claims that he told Minister Hussen about the anti-semitic consultant before the news broke, and that Hussen and his department could have moved quicker to cut CMAC's funding.{{Cite news |last=Lévesque |first=Catherine |date=2022-08-30 |title=Ottawa to conduct 'extensive review' of anti-racism funding after Laith Marouf scandal |language=en |work=National Post |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/feds-to-conduct-extensive-review-of-anti-racism-funding-after-laith-marouf-scandal |access-date=2022-09-26}}{{Cite web |last=Jarvis |first=Noah |date=2022-08-24 |title=Liberal MP claims he warned Hussen of antisemitic consultant before news broke |url=https://tnc.news/2022/08/24/liberal-mp-antisemitic/ |access-date=2022-09-26 |language=en-US}}

In 2023, it was revealed that Hussein's office gave at least $93,050 to the sister of one of his senior ministerial staffers.{{cite web | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9424015/hussens-office-93k-pr-work-foodie-firm/ | title=Hussen's office gave $93k in PR work to senior staffer's sister's foodie firm - National | Globalnews.ca }}

In July 2023, Hussen became Minister of International Development, succeeding Harjit Sajjan.

In January 2025, Hussen went on a Middle Eastern tour to discuss regional issues after the fall of the Assad regime the previous December. The trip included the first Canadian delegatory visit to the Syria–Turkey border area, where $17.25 million of humanitarian aid to help Syria was announced. Hussen also held meetings on Syria and the Middle East in Qatar with the minister of state for international cooperation, in Turkey with the deputy foreign minister, as well as a meeting in Saudi Arabia with the minister of state for foreign affairs and the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council.{{Cite news |date=January 13, 2025 |title=Minister makes first trip to Syrian border area after Assad regime ends |url=https://halifax.citynews.ca/2025/01/13/minister-makes-first-trip-to-syrian-border-area-after-assad-regime-ends/ |access-date=February 7, 2025 |work=CityNews |agency=The Canadian Press}}

He was re-elected in York South—Weston—Etobicoke in the 2025 Canadian federal election.{{Cite web |title=Canada election 2025 results: York South—Weston—Etobicoke - National {{!}} Globalnews.ca |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/11131243/canada-election-2025-results-york-south-weston-etobicoke/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Global News |language=en-US}}

Hussen has over the years received honours and recognition for his public work. In January 2004, the Toronto Star named him among the 10 individuals who have made significant contributions to Toronto in various fields, including community service, business, sports and science. In 2017, Hussen was presented with the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards,[http://canadianimmigrant.ca/rbctop25 RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards] an award that honours the achievements of immigrants who have chosen to make Canada their home.

Hussen was also presented a Queen's Gold and Diamond Jubilee medal. He also received the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Authority Award for his efficacious advocacy work in Regent Park.

{{2025 Canadian federal election/York South—Weston—Etobicoke}}

{{2021 Canadian federal election/York South—Weston}}

{{2019 Canadian federal election/York South—Weston}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|2015|York South—Weston (federal electoral district){{!}}York South—Weston|percent=yes|change=yes|expenditures=yes}}

{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Ahmed Hussen|20,093|46.0|+13.2|$82,886.06}}

{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Mike Sullivan|13,281|30.4|−9.7|$155,467.41}}

{{CANelec|CA|Conservative|James Robinson|8,399|19.2|−5.1|$16,183.98}}

{{CANelec|CA|Libertarian|Stephen Lepone|1,041|2.4|–|$202.00}}

{{CANelec|CA|Green|John Johnson|892|2.0|−0.8|$455.00}}

{{Canadian election result/total|Total valid votes/Expense limit|43,706|100.0  | |$203,875.44}}

{{Canadian election result/total|Total rejected ballots|362|0.82|+0.02}}

{{Canadian election result/total|Turnout|44,068|62.63|+9.53}}

{{Canadian election result/total|Eligible voters|70,361}}

{{CANelec/gain|CA|Liberal|NDP|+11.45}}

{{CANelec/source|Source: Elections Canada[http://www.elections.ca/Scripts/vis/candidates?L=e&ED=35120&EV=41&EV_TYPE=1&PC=&PROV=ON&PROVID=35&MAPID=&QID=8&PAGEID=17&TPAGEID=&PD=&STAT_CODE_ID=-1 Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for York South—Weston, 30 September 2015][http://www.elections.ca/content2.aspx?section=can&dir=cand/canlim&document=index&lang=e Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045200/http://www.elections.ca/content2.aspx?section=can&dir=cand%2Fcanlim&document=index&lang=e |date=March 4, 2016 }}}}

{{end}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://ahmedhussen.liberal.ca/ Official Website]
• [https://pm.gc.ca/en/cabinet/honourable-ahmed-hussen Bio & mandate from the prime minister]
• {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=18551}}
• [http://americanislamicleadership.org/ahmedhussen American Islamic Leadership Coalition – Ahmed Hussen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116204412/http://americanislamicleadership.org/ahmedhussen |date=January 16, 2012 }}

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