Kirsty Duncan | |
|---|---|
 Duncan in 2019 | |
| Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons | |
| In office November 20, 2019 – December 3, 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Chris Bittle |
| Succeeded by | Sherry Romanado |
| Minister of Science and Sport | |
| In office November 4, 2015 – November 20, 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Herself (Sport and Persons with Disabilities) Ed Holder (Science and Technology) |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities | |
| In office January 25, 2018 – July 18, 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Kent Hehr |
| Succeeded by | Herself (Sport) Carla Qualtrough (Persons with Disabilities) |
| Member of Parliament forEtobicoke North | |
| In office October 14, 2008 – April 27, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Roy Cullen |
| Succeeded by | John Zerucelli |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kirsty Ellen Duncan (1966-10-31)October 31, 1966 Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | January 26, 2026(2026-01-26) (aged 59) |
| Party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Sven Spengemann[1] |
| Residence(s) | Richmond Gardens,[2]Etobicoke, Ontario |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto (BA) University of Edinburgh (PhD) |
| Profession | Geographer, professor, politician |
Kirsty Ellen DuncanPC (October 31, 1966 – January 26, 2026) was a Canadian politician andmedical geographer who served as themember of Parliament (MP) for theToronto riding ofEtobicoke North from 2008 to 2025.
In her professional career, she published a book about her 1998 expedition to uncover the cause of the 1918Spanish flu epidemic. A member of theLiberal Party, Duncan served in theJustin Trudeau government as the deputy leader of the government in theHouse of Commons from 2019 to 2021, asminister of science and sport from 2015 to 2019, and asminister of persons with disabilities in 2018.[3] She did not seek re-election in the2025 federal election.
After graduating fromKipling Collegiate Institute in 1985 as an Ontario scholar, Duncan studied geography and anthropology at theUniversity of Toronto. She then entered graduate school at theUniversity of Edinburgh inScotland, and completed aDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in geography in 1992.[4]
Duncan said that she was emotionally and psychologically abused during her time as a gymnast.[5] According to Duncan, after starting gymnastics at age six, she was repeatedly called fat despite being a normal weight. She developed unhealthy eating habits to avoid gaining weight and by her second undergraduate year, had damaged herstomach lining.[6]
Duncan was an associate professor of Health Studies at theUniversity of Toronto, where she taught global environmental processes and medical geography.[7] Duncan was the former research director for the AIC Institute of Corporate Citizenship at the Rotman School of Management.[8] As well, Duncan served on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an organization which won the Nobel Prize in 2007.[7]
From 1993 to 2000, Duncan taught meteorology, climatology and climate change at theUniversity of Windsor.[9] In 1992, as she became aware of the increasing probability of a global flu crisis, she was led to investigate the cause of the similar 1918Spanish flu pandemic, saying, "I was horrified we didn’t know what causedSpanish flu, and also knew that if we could find fragments of the virus, we might be able to find a better flu vaccine".[10]
Though at the time she "knew nothing about influenza",[11] she began what she called a "six-month crash course invirology".[11] Eventually, she began searching for possible frozen samples of lung and brain tissue that might contain the virus. Her initial thoughts led her to think ofAlaska,[11] as it contains large areas ofpermafrost, which would leave the viruses intact, but the search proved fruitless.
Eventually, after several years of searching, Duncan learned of seven miners who had died from the Spanish flu and were buried in the small town ofLongyearbyen,Norway, an area that would contain permafrost. She then began assembling a team of scientists to accompany her. After several more years of preparation, which involved garnering various permissions to perform the exhumations, the ground survey began in 1998. The expedition was exemplary in terms of biosafety procedures and treatment of culturally sensitive sites. However, it did not yield samples from which the virus could be reconstructed, as the bodies were not in permafrost.[12]
In 2003, Duncan wrote a book about her expedition, titledHunting the 1918 Flu: One Scientist's Search for a Killer Virus. Published by theUniversity of Toronto Press, it details Duncan's process and the expedition itself.[13]
In 2003, Duncan returned to the University of Toronto, teaching medical geography atUniversity of Toronto Scarborough with additional duties teaching corporate social responsibility at theRotman School of Management.[14] In 2008, Duncan published a second book,Environment and Health: Protecting our Common Future.[15]
As of 2019[update], Duncan was an adjunct professor teaching both medical geography at theUniversity of Toronto and global environmental processes atRoyal Roads University.[16]
In 2018, theUniversity of Edinburgh awarded her anhonorary degree.[17] Duncan was also recognized as one of the 100 Influential Women in Oncology by OncoDaily.[18]
Her 2024 book,The Exclusion Effect: How the Sciences Discourage Girls & Women & What to Do About It was shortlisted for a 2024 Science Writers and Communicators of Canada book award.[19]
In February 2008,Roy Cullen announced that he would not be running in the next federal election and Duncan was appointed the next Liberal candidate.[20][21] She was elected in the2008 general election and re-elected in the2011,2015,2019 and2021 general elections.[22]
On November 4, 2015, Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau appointed her to theCabinet as minister of science.[23] Duncan was tasked with establishing the new position of chief science officer that would serve as a replacement to the national science adviser role eliminated byStephen Harper in 2008.[4] As well Duncan became minister for sports and persons with disabilities afterKent Hehr resigned from Cabinet following sexual misconduct allegations.[24]
As minister of science and sport, Duncan made ending abuse and harassment in sport her priority since taking over the portfolio in January 2018.[25] In February 2019, Duncan convened provincial and territorial sports ministers to sign a joint declaration on combating misconduct such as abuse, harassment, and discrimination. The2019 federal budget promised $30 million over the next five years to achieve those goals.[5]
Duncan wanted to institute a series of initiatives, including establishing new policy for national sports organizations, funding the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada to create an investigation unit, and setting up a toll-free confidential tipline for athletes and witnesses to call if they experience abuse. Duncan's action items included creating a code of conduct with sanctions and finding a way to prevent coaches or officials from freely moving to another province or club after allegations of abuse. Currently this action item is a work in progress.[25]
Her priority as minister of science was to "unmuzzle our scientists".[26] Duncan was able to bring back thelong-form census in 2016 and the chief scientific adviser position.[26]
Duncan reported that the government in 2018 devoted $2.8 billion to renewing Canada's federal science laboratories because they said that they understand the critical role that government researchers play in Canada's science and research community.[27]
She was re-elected in the2019 federal election, following which she was appointed deputy leader of the government in the House of Commons.[3][28] The sports portfolio folded into theCanadian Heritage portfolio.[5] After the2021 federal election, she became the chair of the science and research committee.[29]
Duncan issued a statement, on January 26, 2023, that she would be taking a medical leave, but would remain as an MP, because of a "physical health challenge".[29] She returned to parliament in 2024 after treatment for cancer.[30]
On January 27, 2023, Duncan called for apublic inquiry into abuse in Canadian sports and criticized the Trudeau government for not effectively following up on her initiatives as sports minister.[5]
In June 2023, Duncan told a House of Commons committee that when her time as sport minister ended in 2019, she had been told the role needed to “get back to what sport was really about” after she asked about plans for tackling safe sport reform. She said she had responded; “So not protecting children.”[31]
On March 21, 2025, Duncan announced that she was not going to run for re-election in the2025 federal election.[32] She was succeeded by LiberalJohn Zerucelli.
Duncan was in a relationship with, and eventually married, former Liberal MPSven Spengemann.[1] Duncan died from cancer on January 26, 2026, at the age of 59.[33] Her tribute was paid by many, including former Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau, who described her as "curious, generous, and deeply committed to helping others",[34] as well as Prime MinisterMark Carney.[35]
| 2021 Canadian federal election:Etobicoke North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kirsty Duncan | 21,201 | 59.6 | -1.8 | $71,639.16 | |||
| Conservative | Priti Lamba | 8,866 | 24.9 | +2.7 | $81,543.28 | |||
| New Democratic | Cecil Peter | 3,708 | 10.4 | -0.4 | none listed | |||
| People's | Jim Boutsikakis | 1,473 | 4.1 | +1.3 | $0.00 | |||
| Independent | Carol Royer | 316 | 0.9 | – | $7,250.71 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 35,564 | – | – | $107,272.58 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 494 | |||||||
| Turnout | 36,058 | 50.2 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 71,876 | |||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[36] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election:Etobicoke North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kirsty Duncan | 26,388 | 61.4 | -1.01 | $67,270.39 | |||
| Conservative | Sarabjit Kaur | 9,524 | 22.2 | -0.80 | none listed | |||
| New Democratic | Naiima Farah | 4,654 | 10.8 | -1.61 | none listed | |||
| People's | Renata Ford | 1,196 | 2.8 | - | none listed | |||
| Green | Nancy Ghuman | 1,080 | 2.5 | +1.25 | none listed | |||
| Canada's Fourth Front | Sudhir Mehta | 104 | 0.2 | - | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 42,946 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 565 | |||||||
| Turnout | 43,511 | 58.8 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 73,970 | |||||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | -0.11 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[37][38] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election:Etobicoke North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kirsty Duncan | 26,251 | 62.41 | +19.84 | $69,670.96 | |||
| Conservative | Toyin Dada | 9,673 | 23.00 | -8.96 | $60,237.66 | |||
| New Democratic | Faisal Hassan | 5,220 | 12.41 | -11.21 | $37,513.09 | |||
| Green | Akhtar Ayub | 524 | 1.25 | +1.08 | $1,558.16 | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Anna Di Carlo | 232 | 0.55 | – | ||||
| No affiliation | George Szebik | 164 | 0.39 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 42,064 | 100.00 | $201,932.10 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 257 | 0.61 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 42,321 | 62.18 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 68,063 | |||||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | +14.40 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[39][40] | ||||||||
| 2011 Canadian federal election:Etobicoke North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kirsty Duncan | 13,665 | 42.4 | -6.2 | ||||
| Conservative | Priti Lamba | 10,357 | 32.1 | +2.0 | ||||
| New Democratic | Diana Andrews | 7,630 | 23.7 | +8.0 | ||||
| Libertarian | Alex Dvornyak | 208 | 0.7 | -4.1 | ||||
| Marxist–Leninist | Anna Di Carlo | 189 | 0.6 | -0.4 | ||||
| Christian Heritage | John C. Gardner | 186 | 0.6 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | 32,235 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 279 | 0.9 | +0.2 | |||||
| Turnout | 32,514 | 52.5 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 61,930 | – | – | |||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | -4.1 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[41] | ||||||||
| 2008 Canadian federal election:Etobicoke North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kirsty Duncan | 15,244 | 48.6 | -13.0 | $54,827 | |||
| Conservative | Bob Saroya | 9,436 | 30.1 | +7.8 | $64,024 | |||
| New Democratic | Ali Naqvi | 4,940 | 15.7 | +5.1 | $35,653 | |||
| Green | Nigel Barriffe | 1,460 | 4.7 | +2.1 | $2,242 | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Anna Di Carlo | 300 | 1.0 | +0.4 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 31,380 | 100.0 | $79,011 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 214 | 0.68 | ||||||
| Turnout | 31,594 | |||||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | -10.4 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[42] | ||||||||
| 29th Canadian Ministry (2015–2025) – Cabinet ofJustin Trudeau | ||
| Cabinet posts (2) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Kent Hehr | Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities January 25, 2018 – July 18, 2018 | Herself (Sport) Carla Qualtrough (Persons with Disabilities) |
| Ed Holder | Minister of Science and Sport November 4, 2015 – November 20, 2019 | Navdeep Bains (Innovation, Science and Industry) Steven Guilbeault (Canadian Heritage) |
