Hon. Eleni Bakopanos

Eleni Bakopanos was first elected to the House of Commons in 1993 as the Member of Parliament for Saint-Denis and is the first Greek-born woman to be elected to Parliament. She was the Member of Parliament for Ahuntsic from 1997 to 2006. From 2006 to 2008 Ms. Bakopanos acted as special advisor for caucus to the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and worked in the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition of the House of Commons of Canada.

Ms. Bakopanos has served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development with special emphasis on the Social Economy (2003-2004); as Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons (2001-2003); and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (1997-1999).
 

In July 2004, the Right Honourable Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada, appointed Ms. Bakopanos a member of the Privy Council and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Social Development with special emphasis on the Social Economy.

She has also been Chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in addition to serving on several other Standing Committees of the House of Commons of Canada, most notably Foreign Affairs and International Trade as well as Justice and Human Rights.

Ms. Bakopanos has been a tireless advocate for issues related to social justice and social cohesion, equality, the fight against poverty, at-risk youth, seniors, new immigrants, and domestic and international human rights. Ms. Bakopanos is presently Senior Director for Government Relations at McGill University. Ms. Bakopanos holds a Bachelor of Arts with honors in political science and history from McGill University, where she also studied law.