The Honourable Don Boudria was a Member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1984 to 2006. He was first appointed to Cabinet on October 4,1996 and has held several portfolios such as Minister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for La Francophonie, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Receiver General for Canada as well as Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.
Mr. Boudria began his political career in 1976 when he was first elected councillor for Cumberland Township (now part of the City of Ottawa). He was re-elected in 1978 and 1980. While in this position, he served as a member of the Cumberland Township recreational committee and was founding vice-president of the Sarsfield Optimist Club, founding member of the Sarsfield Knights of Columbus, founding president of the Cumberland Township Non-profit Housing Corporation, and a member of many other community groups. From 1981 to 1984, he served in the Ontario Legislature as Member of the Provincial Parliament.
Don Boudria holds a bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Waterloo. Before entering politics, he worked as a federal employee, holding various positions, including Chief Purchasing Agent on Parliament Hill.
Mr. Boudria is also the founding president of the Ontario section of the International Assembly of French-speaking Parliamentarians, which named him a Chevalier in 1988, Officier in 1994 and Commandeur in 1997. He was Chair of the Standing Committee on Procedure and the dean of the Liberal caucus in the House of Commons during the 38th Parliament. He retired from Parliament on January 23, 2006. He has since published his autobiography Busboy: From Kitchen to Cabinet.
Don Boudria was born in Hull, Quebec in 1949. He and his wife Mary Ann have two children, Daniel and Julie, and 5 grandchildren. He speaks French, English, and Spanish. He has served on the boards of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians and, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians from 2006. He is the sponsor of the Don Boudria annual scholarship for studying Canadian history at the University of Ottawa.
On April 19th, 2018, the City of Ottawa announced the creation of the Don Boudria Park in the Orleans area of Ottawa to honour Mr. Boudria for his lifetime of service to his area and to Canada generally. In June 2018 he received the distinguished service award from the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians.
He joined Hill & Knowlton Canada as an associate in June 2006, providing lobbying services as well as advice on parliamentary procedure. He is also a guest lecturer at Concordia University (Montreal) and frequently offers advice parliamentary relations. He has been on the Board of the Carriage Hills Condominium Association since 2015.