The Rev. Dr. Robert Oliphant was elected to the House of Commons on October 19, 2015 and re-elected on October 21, 2019, representing the federal riding of Don Valley West. He previously served in that position from 2008 until 2011 where he served as Official Opposition Critic for Veterans Affairs and for Multiculturalism.

In December 2019, Rob was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Rob works closely with the Honourable Marc Garneau , Minister of Foreign Affairs, to ensure constructive Canadian leadership in the world and promote Canada’s interests and values globally. Rob previously served in this role working with the former Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland and the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne.

Rob is also the Vice-Chair of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association and the Canada-Pakistan Friendship Group. He served as Co-Chair of the House of Commons and Senate Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying, as Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security from 2015 to 2017, and as Chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration from 2017 to 2019. Rob’s legislative accomplishments include an Act which outlaws discrimination against genetic characteristics as well as an Act he co-sponsored which creates a national dementia strategy.

Rob received his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and worked in industry as a Systems Accountant. An Ordained Minister in the United Church of Canada, he has a Masters of Divinity from the Vancouver School of Theology, at the University of British Columbia and served congregations in Newfoundland, Quebec, Yukon and Toronto. He earned a Doctorate from the Chicago Theological Seminary at the University of Chicago in 2008. From 2011 until 2015 he was President and CEO of the Asthma Society of Canada.