Marc Miller’s profile details offer an overview of his personal and professional background to understand his role as a Canadian immigration minister.
A young Justin Trudeau used to pester a boy in his intermediate English class at the College Jean-de-Brebeuf in Montreal for a pencil in 1984. This was only so that he could finish his homework. The young man in question, Marc Miller, grew up to be one of Prime Minister Trudeau’s closest friends. As of July 26th, 2023, he took over as Minister of IRCC.
Marc Miller’s profile details – childhood and adolescence
Miller, whose parents are an anglophone Montrealer and a history professor from Nova Scotia, was born in 1973. Miller, who was raised in Montreal, received his early education at the College Jean-de-Brebeuf.
In 1989, at 16, Miller, who was working as a food bagger at a supermarket, felt compelled to enlist in the Canadian military as an infantry soldier to serve his nation and pursue his sense of adventure. After four years, Miller would leave the army (having attained the rank of Infantry Commander), stating that while it had been a rewarding and eye-opening experience, he preferred to spend his time on other activities.
Educational background and the road to a political career
Miller returned to Montreal to finish his studies and launch a political career, gaining political science bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Université de Montréal. He would eventually complete his legal education at McGill University and get common and civil law degrees.
Miller worked at the Canadian law firm Stikeman Elliot after graduating from college. The young attorney initially focused on mergers and acquisitions and commercial law. However, he later practiced law in Montreal, Stockholm, and New York City.
As Justin Trudeau’s fundraising director in 2013, Miller helped the future prime minister win the Liberal Party leadership election after moving back to Montreal. In 2015, Miller ran for a political position of his own. He hoped to represent the Quebec seat of Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs.
In 2015, he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons. Miller’s tenure as mayor was and continues to be widely famous among the people of Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs. The politician has a solid reputation for his efforts. These efforts include getting federal financing for low-income housing, public transportation, and the Child Care Benefit for Montreal’s middle-class families.
Throughout this time, Miller would also serve as the head of the Quebec Liberal Members of Parliament.
Stepping into National Politics
Miller became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities on January 17, 2017. This office was primarily concerned with expanding and maintaining Canada’s infrastructure. While his work in this office was once again regarded well, his time here would be brief.
On June 1, 2017, Miller would make Canadian political history by presenting his speech to the Canadian House of Commons entirely in Mohawk. It is an Indigenous language that the Mohawk individuals of Canada speak. However, this was the first time the language had been spoken in the Canadian parliament since Confederation. This was nearly 150 years earlier, in 1867.
Miller was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations in August 2017, three months after delivering this presentation. Furthermore, he spent the next three years advocating for Indigenous peoples’ rights in Canada and the federal government’s responsibility to them.
Miller emerged as the Minister of Indigenous Services in 2019. Also, he became the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations the following year.
Marc Miller’s profile details and his role as an immigration minister
Miller’s recent history serves as a pointer for what we may expect from him as immigration minister. New immigration ministers typically spend the first few months of their term getting up to speed on Canada’s key immigration issues and creating relationships inside the Department of IRCC. Miller’s primary contact at IRCC will be Christiane Fox, the department’s Deputy Minister. Essentially, Deputy Ministers are non-political civil officers responsible for carrying out the policy initiatives of the elected government.
Following substantial cabinet shuffles, Trudeau publicly shared mandate letters with his ministers. If this holds true, Miller can expect a new letter from Trudeau stating which immigration policy concerns he will focus on during the Liberal Party’s remaining mandate. The next election in Canada is likely to occur in October 2025.
