Minister of Industry

The Honourable Jim Prentice

Constituency: Calgary Centre–North (Alberta)
E-mail: Minister.Industry@ic.gc.ca

The Honourable Jim Prentice, appointed Minister of Industry on August 14, 2007, was elected to the House of Commons in 2004 and was re-elected in 2006. He currently serves as Chair of the government's Operations Committee of Cabinet, and he is a member of the Priorities and Planning Committee as well as the Economic Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Committee. He is also the Minister responsible for overseeing pipelines.

Prior to being appointed Minister of Industry, Mr. Prentice was Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians from February 2006 to August 2007.

He has also served as Official Opposition Critic for Indian Affairs and Northern Development and was a member of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.

A lawyer by profession, Mr. Prentice has specialized in property rights, focusing on relocations, environmental protection suits and restricted development areas. He also served as a commissioner of the Indian Specific Claims Commission of Canada for 10 years and is recognized by his peers as an expert in land claims negotiations. Mr. Prentice travelled to South Africa twice as an expert adviser on how to protect property rights in that country's new constitution.

Mr. Prentice holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University.

Raised in Northern Ontario and Alberta, Mr. Prentice has lived in Calgary for over 20 years with his wife Karen and their three daughters.