Yasmin Ratansi

Yasmin Ratansi

Yasmin Ratansi is a Canadian politician who represented the Toronto area riding of Don Valley East in the House of Commons from 2004 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2021. She was elected as a Liberal in the 2004 federal election and served until her defeat in 2011. She was re-elected in 2015 and 2019. Ratansi left the Liberal Party on November 9, 2020, and sat as an independent for the remainder of her term; she did not seek re-election in the 2021 election.

Ratansi is an Ismaili Muslim and was the first Muslim woman elected to Parliament. Born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, she immigrated to Canada in 1974. She worked as a management consultant, and is a Certified General Accountant (CGA), a member of the Certified General Accountants of Ontario, and a fellow of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada. In 2009, Ratansi was bestowed with the John Leslie Award by CGA Canada, given in recognition of CGAs “who have achieved a high and favourable profile in the Canadian community.