Rechie Valdez | |
|---|---|
 Valdez in 2021 | |
| Minister of Small Business | |
| Assumed office July 26, 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Mary Ng |
| Member of Parliament for Mississauga—Streetsville | |
| Assumed office September 20, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Gagan Sikand |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1980 Zambia |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence(s) | Mississauga, Ontario |
Rechie Valdez (born September 17, 1980)[1][2] is a Canadian entrepreneur, television personality, and politician, serving as the Minister of Small Business since 2023. She was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2021 federal election representing Mississauga—Streetsville as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. She is the first Filipino Canadian woman, and second Filipino Canadian after former Manitoba Liberal MP Rey Pagtakhan, to be elected as a Member of Parliament in Canada.
Valdez spent some few years in the financial sector before venturing in business. She owned a baking business, had competed in The Big Bake on Food Network Canada, and hosted and produced a television show Fearlessly Creative on Filipino TV.[2]
She is married to Christopher Valdez, and has two children.[3][4] Outside politics, Valdez plays basketball as a hobby, where she once held a basketball fundraising activity for Montreal Children's Hospital and SickKids in Toronto.[2]
| 2021 Canadian federal election: Mississauga—Streetsville | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Rechie Valdez | 23,698 | 47.3 | -3.1 | ||||
| Conservative | Jasveen Rattan | 17,131 | 34.2 | +1.1 | ||||
| New Democratic | Farina Hassan | 6,186 | 12.3 | +2.0 | ||||
| People's | Gurdeep Wolosz | 1,851 | 3.7 | +2.5 | ||||
| Green | Chris Hill | 1,048 | 2.1 | -2.5 | ||||
| Animal Protection | Natalie Spizzirri | 210 | 0.4 | ±0.0 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 50,124 | 99.3 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 333 | 0.7 | ||||||
| Turnout | 50,457 | 58.7 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 85,976 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -2.1 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[5] | ||||||||