Yasir Naqvi
Member of Parliament
Attorney General of Ontario
Master of Arts, International Affairs (’08)
“This is an extraordinary moment for Canada—one that calls for thoughtful leadership, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to standing up for our country and the values we share. My time at NPSIA helped shape those principles, providing me with the tools to navigate complexity and the discipline to pursue evidence-based policy. I carry those lessons with me every day as the Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre. Being re-elected is both a profound honour and a solemn responsibility—to listen, to lead, and to help build a more inclusive, resilient, and forward-looking Canada, at home and on the global stage.”
Yasir Naqvi’s first lesson in politics came when he was 10-years-old, the son of politically active lawyers in Karachi, Pakistan. His father was one of the leaders in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, a coalition of Pakistani political parties that opposed the military regime and martial law. Mr. Naqvi clearly remembers the day his father left the house to lead a non-violent march in Karachi.
“I vividly remember that we hugged and kissed each other, knowing full well that he would be arrested that day,” recalls Mr. Naqvi. “Within a short period of the march starting, he was handcuffed, thrown in the back of a van and jailed for nine months.”
Mr. Naqvi says those early experiences became part of his DNA, strongly shaping his own choices in life.
“The value of democratic institutions, the meaning of the rule of law, the right to vote: these principles are not just ideas on paper, but at the core of who I am. They were entrenched in my upbringing.”
From 2016-2018, Mr. Naqvi was Attorney General and Government House Leader for the Province of Ontario—the province’s chief lawyer and advisor to the cabinet on legislative matters. As Attorney General, he introduced policies relating to access to justice and the justice system.
He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre in 2021 under the Liberal Party of Canada, where he he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness.
In March 2023, he stepped down from his parliamentary secretary role to pursue the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party, officially launching his campaign that June. He ultimately placed third in the leadership race.
Most recently, Naqvi was re-elected as the federal MP for Ottawa Centre in April 2025, continuing his ongoing commitment to public service and community-building in Canada’s capital.