Diane Finley appointed Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada

BIOGRAPHY
Diane Finley was appointed Minister for Citizenship and Immigration on January 4, 2007. Ms. Finley was first elected to Parliament in 2004 and was then re-elected in 2006. Since her election, she has served as Official Opposition Critic for Agriculture and Agri-Food. On February 6, 2006, Ms. Finley was appointed Minister for Human Resources and Social Development by the Right Honourable Stephen Harper.

Ms. Finley's professional career began as an administrator of The University of Western Ontario's highly regarded French Immersion School. Prior to her election, she held several senior positions in both the public and private sectors encompassing health care, transportation, agricultural equipment manufacturing, printing and publishing, and aviation. While working with the Laidlaw group of companies, Ms. Finley built Canada's largest publicly funded ambulance service company.

Beyond her work, Ms. Finley has been Board Chair of the Brant Community Care Access Centre, and has been active with a number of other organizations, including the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, The National Standards Committee of the Paramedic Association of Canada, the Aurora Club, the Canadian Strategic Leadership Forum, the Ambulance Service Alliance of Ontario, and the Ontario Government Health Policy Advisory Council.

Most recently, Ms. Finley has been working with the Thyroid Foundation of Canada to spread awareness of thyroid conditions and urge more Canadians to have their thyroid tested. Ms. Finley was diagnosed with Graves' Disease, a hyperthyroidism condition, in February 2006-a condition which has led to her wearing tinted lenses at all times.

Diane Finley has received many awards for her activism, including the University of Western Ontario's Coupe du président. She was also named "one of Canada's future leaders" by the prestigious Governor General's Study Conference 2000.

Ms. Finley has a bachelor's degree in administrative studies and a master's in business administration from the University of Western Ontario.

Ms. Finley was raised in Port Dover and Charlotteville, Ontario, and today resides in Simcoe, Ontario, with her husband Doug.