Minister's Biography

Honourable Donna Cansfield

Hon. Donna Cansfield Minister of Natural Resources

Donna Cansfield was elected as MPP for Etobicoke Centre in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. In 2005, she was appointed Minister of Energy where she was instrumental in implementing the government's energy plan to build cleaner generation capacity, maximize Ontario's existing generation and transmission assets and create a culture of conservation. Cansfield also introduced Bill 21, the Energy Conservation Responsibility Act, which was passed by the legislature in February 2006.
 
In 2006, Cansfield was appointed Minister of Transportation. She brought forward the "one person, one seatbelt" legislation and the Safer Roads for a Safer Ontario Act, which set new standards for road safety, with some of the toughest sanctions in Canada to target drinking and driving, stunt driving, and street racing. In May 2007, Cansfield held the first sustainable transportation conference, TransForum, to help create a transportation system that supports the needs of today while protecting our environment for future generations.
 
Appointed Minister of Natural Resources in October 2007, Cansfield made effective a new Endangered Species Act which tripled the number of protected species in Ontario. She is responsible for an initiative to plant 50 million trees in southern Ontario, and is currently implementing a strategy for the province’s far north that will see at least 225,000 square km of land protected, in the fight against climate change. Cansfield is also working with her Manitoba counterpart and First Nations to have a 40,000 square km boreal forest declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cansfield is a tireless contributor to services for communities, families and, in particular, children. She was a school trustee for 15 years, a member of the Etobicoke School Board and chair of the Toronto District School Board, president of the Ontario Public School Boards' Association, and vice-chair of the Toronto Foundation for Student Success. She also has national experience through her work as a board member for Learning for a Sustainable Future, director of Prime Mentors of Canada and as a past president of the Canadian School Board Association.
 
Representing a riding with Canada's largest proportion of senior citizens, Cansfield has served as a director of a hospice and has been active in other health care efforts. She has continued to work with her constituents to recognize key social goals and formed partnerships to achieve them. Cansfield lives in Etobicoke with her husband Bill. They have two children, Jennie and D'Arcy, who live and work in Ontario.