Kirsty Duncan

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable

| name = Kirsty Duncan

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}

| image = Kirsty Duncan2019.jpg

| office = Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

| primeminister = Justin Trudeau

| partner = Sven Spengemannhttps://x.com/SvenTrueNorth/status/1851980154572046684

| term_start = November 20, 2019

| term_end = December 3, 2021

| predecessor = Chris Bittle

| successor = Sherry Romanado

| office1 = Minister of Science and Sport

| primeminister1 = Justin Trudeau

| term_start1 = November 4, 2015

| term_end1 = November 20, 2019

| predecessor1 = Herself (Sport and Persons with Disabilities)
Ed Holder (Science and Technology)

| successor1 = Position abolished

| office2 = Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities

| term_start2 = January 25, 2018

| term_end2 = July 18, 2018

| predecessor2 = Kent Hehr

| successor2 = Herself (Sport)
Carla Qualtrough (Persons with Disabilities)

| primeminister2 = Justin Trudeau

| riding3 = Etobicoke North

| parliament3 = Canadian

| term_start3 = October 14, 2008

| term_end3 = March 23, 2025

| predecessor3 = Roy Cullen

| successor3 = John Zerucelli

| birth_name = Kirsty Ellen Duncan

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1966|10|31}}

| birth_place = Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Liberal

| spouse =

| residence = Richmond Gardens,{{cite web|title=Search For Contributions|url=https://www.elections.ca/WPAPPS/WPF/EN/CCS/ContributionReport?returnStatus=1&reportOption=5&queryId=92264847a6134e8a820086f21dc98412&sortDirection=asc&sortOrder=0%2C1%2C2&totalRecordFound=146¤t200Page=1&total200Pages=1&reportExists=True&displaySorting=True|publisher=Elections Canada|access-date=2021-06-23}} Etobicoke, Ontario

| alma_mater = University of Toronto (BA)
University of Edinburgh (PhD)

| profession = Geographer, professor, politician

| footnotes =

| website = {{URL|https://kirstyduncan.liberal.ca/}}

| caption = Duncan in 2019

}}

Kirsty Ellen Duncan {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (born October 31, 1966) is a Canadian politician and medical geographer from Ontario, Canada. Duncan was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Toronto riding of Etobicoke North from 2008 until 2025, and she served as deputy leader of the government in the House of Commons from 2019 to 2021. Duncan has previously served as minister of science and minister of sport and persons with disabilities.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-federal-election-2019-liberals-maintain-hold-on-key-ridings-in-vote/|title=Federal election 2019: Liberals maintain hold on key ridings in vote-rich Ontario|access-date=2019-12-12}} She has published a book about her 1998 expedition to uncover the cause of the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic.

Early life and education

After graduating from Kipling Collegiate Institute in 1985 as an Ontario scholar, Duncan studied geography and anthropology at the University of Toronto. She then entered graduate school at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and completed a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in geography in 1992.{{cite journal | title=Canada's top scientist faces tough challenge | journal=Nature | date=24 December 2015 | author=Jones, Nicola| volume=528 | issue=7583 | page=445 | doi=10.1038/528445a | pmid=26701031 | bibcode=2015Natur.528..445J | s2cid=4458708 | doi-access=free }}

Duncan said that she was emotionally and psychologically abused during her time as a gymnast.{{Cite news |last=Heroux |first=Devin |date=January 27, 2023 |title=Trudeau government dropped the ball on fighting abuse in sport, former minister says |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/kirsty-duncan-abuse-sport-trudeau-1.6727658 |access-date=January 28, 2023}} According to Duncan, after starting gymnastics at age six, she was repeatedly called fat despite being a normal weight. She developed unhealthy eating habits to avoid gaining weight and by her second year of undergrad, had damaged her stomach lining.{{Cite news |last=Heroux |first=Devin |date=January 29, 2023 |title=Ex-sport minister says verbal abuse about her weight as a young gymnast led to lifelong struggles |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/kirsty-duncan-eating-disorder-gymnast-athlete-abuse-1.6727320?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar |access-date=January 31, 2023}}

Academic career

Duncan was an associate professor of Health Studies at the University of Toronto, where she taught global environmental processes and medical geography.{{Cite web|url=https://kirstyduncan.liberal.ca/biography/|title=Biography {{!}} Kirsty Duncan {{!}} Your member of parliament for Etobicoke North|website=kirstyduncan.liberal.ca|language=en|access-date=2019-12-12}} Duncan is the former research director for the AIC Institute of Corporate Citizenship at the Rotman School of Management.{{Cite web|url=https://rc-rc.ca/profile/honourable-kirsty-duncan/|title=The Honourable Kirsty Duncan|website=Research Canada|language=en-CA|access-date=2019-12-12}} As well, Duncan served on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an organization which won the Nobel Prize in 2007.

From 1993 to 2000, Duncan taught meteorology, climatology and climate change at the University of Windsor.{{Cite web|url=http://www.uwindsor.ca/dailynews/2015-11-04/new-federal-cabinet-boasts-uwindsor-ties|title=New federal cabinet boasts UWindsor ties|website=DailyNews|language=en|access-date=2019-12-12}} In 1992, as she became aware of the increasing probability of a global flu crisis, she was led to investigate the cause of the similar 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, saying, "I was horrified we didn’t know what caused Spanish flu, and also knew that if we could find fragments of the virus, we might be able to find a better flu vaccine".{{cite magazine |last1=Gladwell |first1=Malcolm |date=September 29, 1997 |title=The Dead Zone |url=http://gladwell.com/the-dead-zone/ |magazine=The New Yorker}}

Though at the time she "knew nothing about influenza",{{cite book |last=Duncan |first=Kirsty |author-link=Kirsty Duncan |title=Hunting the 1918 Flu: One Scientist's Search for a Killer Virus |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8020-8748-5}} she began what she called a "six-month crash course in virology". Eventually, she began searching for possible frozen samples of lung and brain tissue that might contain the virus. Her initial thoughts led her to think of Alaska, as it contains large areas of permafrost, which would leave the viruses intact, but the search proved fruitless.

Eventually, after several years of searching, Duncan learned of seven miners who had died from the Spanish flu and were buried in the small town of Longyearbyen, Norway, an area that would contain permafrost. She then began assembling a team of scientists to accompany her. After several more years of preparation, which involved garnering various permissions to perform the exhumations, the ground survey began in 1998. The expedition was exemplary in terms of biosafety procedures and treatment of culturally sensitive sites. However, it did not yield samples from which the virus could be reconstructed, as the bodies were not in permafrost.{{cite news |title=Excavating the Flu |url=http://definingmomentscanada.ca/the-spanish-flu/themes/excavating-the-flu/ |publisher=Defining Moments Canada |access-date=November 10, 2020}}

In 2003, Duncan wrote a book about her expedition, entitled Hunting the 1918 Flu: One Scientist's Search for a Killer Virus. Published by the University of Toronto Press, it details Duncan's process and the expedition itself. After the book's publication, Duncan began speaking about pandemics, which led her to begin teaching corporate social responsibility at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. In 2008, Duncan published a second book, Environment and Health: Protecting our Common Future.

Duncan was an adjunct professor teaching both medical geography at the University of Toronto and global environmental processes at Royal Roads University.{{Cite web|url=http://ccr2p.org/advisory-board|title=Advisory Board|website=Canadian Centre for the Responsibility to Protect|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-12}}

In 2018, the University of Edinburgh awarded her an honorary degree.{{Cite news|url=https://www.ed.ac.uk/student-administration/graduations/honorary/future-honorary-grads|title=Honorary Graduates in 2018|work=The University of Edinburgh|access-date=2018-07-23|language=en}} Kirsty Duncan was also recognized as one of the 100 Influential Women in Oncology by OncoDaily.{{Cite web |title=100 Influential Women in Oncology: Key Opinion Leaders to follow on Social Media in 2023 |url=https://oncodaily.com/positive/9118.html |website=OncoDaily}}

Federal politics

In February 2008, Roy Cullen announced that he would not be running in the next federal election{{cite news |title=Election call expected Sunday |last=Shephard |first=Tamara |url=http://www.insidetoronto.ca/News/Etobicoke/article/55157 |publisher=Metroland Media Group |work=Toronto Community News |date=2008-09-04 |access-date=2008-09-30 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and Duncan was appointed as the next Liberal candidate. She was elected in the 2008 general election and re-elected in the 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2021 general elections.

On November 4, 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed her to the Cabinet as minister of science.{{cite web | url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/full-list-of-justin-trudeau-s-cabinet-1.3300699| title=Full list of Justin Trudeau's cabinet | publisher=CBC | date=4 November 2015 | access-date=4 November 2015}} Duncan was tasked with establishing the new position of chief science officer that would serve as a replacement to the national science adviser role eliminated by Stephen Harper in 2008. As well Duncan became minister for sports and persons with disabilities after Kent Hehr resigned from Cabinet following sexual misconduct allegations.{{Cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4067885/justin-trudeau-kirsty-duncan-nobel-prize/|title=Justin Trudeau keeps saying science minister is a Nobel Prize winner; she's not|website=Global News|language=en|access-date=2019-12-12}}

File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Justin Trudeau, during the Exchange of Agreements, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on February 23, 2018.jpg and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, India, 2018]]

As minister of science and sport, Duncan made ending abuse and harassment in sport her priority since taking over the portfolio in January 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/kirsty-duncan-anti-abuse-more-work-to-be-done-1.5249378|title=Canada's minister of sport Kirsty Duncan: More anti-abuse work to be done|last=Chidley-Hill|first=John|date=August 16, 2019|website=CBC|access-date=December 11, 2019}} In February 2019, Duncan convened provincial and territorial sports ministers to sign a joint declaration on combating misconduct such as abuse, harassment, and discrimination. The 2019 federal budget promised $30 million over the next five years to achieve those goals.

Duncan wanted to institute a series of initiatives, including establishing new policy for national sports organizations, funding the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada to create an investigation unit, and setting up a toll-free confidential tipline for athletes and witnesses to call if they experience abuse. Duncan's action items included creating a code of conduct with sanctions and finding a way to prevent coaches or officials from freely moving to another province or club after allegations of abuse. Currently this action item is a work in progress.

Duncan's priority as minister of science was to "unmuzzle our scientists".{{Cite web |last1=Sharp |first1=Alastair |date=2019-08-16 |title=How the Trudeau government reversed Harper's anti-science agenda |url=https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/08/16/news/how-trudeau-government-reversed-harpers-anti-science-agenda |access-date=2019-12-12 |website=National Observer |language=en}} Duncan was able to bring back the long-form census in 2016 and the chief scientific advisor position.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/08/16/news/how-trudeau-government-reversed-harpers-anti-science-agenda|title=How the Trudeau government reversed Harper's anti-science agenda| first=Alastair | last=Sharp |date=2019-08-16|website=National Observer|language=en|access-date=2019-12-12}}

Duncan reported that the government in 2018 devoted $2.8 billion to renewing Canada's federal science laboratories because they said that they understand the critical role that government researchers play in Canada's science and research community.{{Cite web|url=https://openparliament.ca/committees/industry/42-1/165/kirsty-duncan-1/|title=Industry Committee on May 30th, 2019 {{!}} openparliament.ca|website=openparliament.ca|access-date=2019-12-12}}

Duncan was re-elected in the 2019 federal election, following which she was appointed deputy leader of the government in the House of Commons.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-federal-election-2019-liberals-maintain-hold-on-key-ridings-in-vote/|title=Federal election 2019: Liberals maintain hold on key ridings in vote-rich Ontario|access-date=2019-12-12}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-deputy-pm-freeland-to-oversee-relations-with-us-and-provinces-in/|title=Deputy PM Freeland to oversee relations with U.S. and provinces in Trudeau's new cabinet|access-date=2019-11-20}} The sports portfolio folded into the Canadian Heritage portfolio. After the 2021 federal election, she became the chair of the science and research committee.{{Cite news |last=Stober |first=Eric |date=January 26, 2023 |title=Liberal MP Kirsty Duncan to take leave of absence due to 'health challenge' |work=Global News |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9438927/liberal-mp-kirsty-duncan-medical-leave/ |access-date=January 28, 2023}}

On January 26, 2023, Duncan issued a statement that she would be taking medical leave, but remain as an MP, because of a "physical health challenge". The following day, Duncan called for a public inquiry into abuse in Canadian sports and criticized the Trudeau government for not effectively following up on her initiatives as sports minister.

In June 2023, Duncan told a House of Commons committee that when her time as sport minister ended in 2019, she had been told the role needed to “get back to what sport was really about” after she asked about plans for tackling safe sport reform. She said she had responded; “So not protecting children.”[https://globalnews.ca/news/9772266/kirsty-duncan-safe-sport-inquiry/]

On March 21, 2025, Duncan announced that she was not going to run for re-election in the 2025 federal election.{{Cite tweet |number=1903084691508416991 |user=KirstyDuncanMP |title=To the wonderful people of Etobicoke North [...] |first=Kirsty |last=Duncan |date=2025-03-21 |access-date=2025-03-21 |df=mdy}}