Maria Minna was born in Pofi, Italy, on March 14, 1948, and immigrated to Canada at the age of nine. She grew up with her family in Toronto, taking a job at an early age to assist in paying off the family mortgage and to provide for her younger sisters' education. Maria completed her Honours BA in Sociology at the University of Toronto as a mature student.

Maria quickly became a well-known advocate speaking out on behalf of immigrant and visible minority Canadians, women and youth. From 1981 until 1992, she served as volunteer president of COSTI Immigrant Services, Canada's largest immigrant services organization.

She also served as a director of the National Council on Welfare and as a member of the United Way Campaign Committee, the Women's Legal Education Action Fund, the National Action Committee on Immigrant and Visible Minority Women, and president of the National Congress of Italian-Canadians.

Chatelaine Magazine singled Maria out in 1986 as one of 10 women to watch in Ontario because her "accomplishments are stunning."

A public policy consultant by profession, Maria was appointed Co-Chair of the Worker's Compensation Board of Ontario's Task Force on Vocational Rehabilitation in 1986. She held public hearings across Ontario and delivered a hard-hitting report that resulted in significant improvements to the manner in which injured workers were treated.

In 1991, she was appointed Chair of the WCB Task Force on Service Delivery. She interviewed senior management and front-line personnel across Ontario and delivered a report that resulted in significant improvement in the delivery of services to WCB clients and the elimination of waste.

As Vice-President of MacBain Public Affairs Inc., she provided counsel and service to clients in manufacturing and financial services.

First elected to Parliament in October 1993, Maria was appointed Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development in 1994 and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration from 1996 to 1998.

Maria is widely recognized as one of the most progressive members of the national Liberal caucus. She fought hard to maintain Canada's social safety net and universal health care system. She also fought for the National Child Tax Benefit to reduce child poverty, and for programs to support early childhood development. She served as Chair of the Social Policy Committee of the National Liberal Caucus for several years.

As Minister of International Co-operation from August 1999, until January 2002, Maria was in charge of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) - the agency responsible for Canada's more than $2 billion annual commitment to improving living conditions in developing countries across the globe.

She doubled Canada's overseas investment in health and nutrition and quadrupled investments in education, HIV/AIDS prevention and child protection. She ensured that gender equality and human rights formed an integral part of all of those priority areas. She also ensured that all CIDA projects adhered to high environmental standards.

Maria represented Canada with distinction at meetings of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States, Global Coalition of African States, and the United Nations. Under her leadership, Canada hosted the International Conference on HIV/AIDS and the International Conference on War-Affected Children.

In the 39th Parliament, Maria was the Liberal Critic for the Status of Women.  Maria is currently the Liberal Critic for Labour. She also chairs the Canada-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Canada-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Group.

Peace Advocate:

Maria serves as Vice-Chair of the Canadian branch of the Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament, an international non-partisan forum for parliamentarians committed to nuclear disarmament.

In March 2004, she led an all-party delegation of Members of Parliament, Senators and leaders from the Canadian-Sri Lankan business community to Sri Lanka to demonstrate Canada's support of the reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the tsunami, and to encourage the peace process. She met with government officials in Colombo and with representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the northern area of the island nation which is under the control of the LTTE.

On October 2004, Maria was apppointed special adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on Women, Peace and Security.

Awards:

In March 1994, Maria received the "International Women's Day Award" from the Women's Inter-Cultural Network in recognition of her "demonstrated commitment to women's issues."

In June 2001, she received the "President's Award" of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce in recognition of her lifetime of service to people of immigrant background. She was described as having "always been a strong force and supporter of the South Asian community."

In November 2001, she had the honour of receiving the prestigious Premio Italia nel Mondo award for individuals of Italian origin who are exceptional members of their societies. Previous winners include New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Luciano Pavarotti and Sofia Loren.

In June 2002, Maria received the RESULTS Canada "Outstanding Leadership Award" at a reception in Ottawa hosted by Greek Ambassador Leonidas Chrysanthopolous. RESULTS Canada President Blaise Salmon said she was selected as the first recipient of the award because, as Minister of International Co-operation, she "created a vital legacy that will provide essential life-saving basic services for some of the world's poorest people for years to come."

Maria was presented with the President's Award of the Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council at a gala dinner attended by more than 400 members of Toronto's Sri Lankan community in December 2006.

"The President's Award is awarded annually to an eminent Canadian who has contributed in large measure to bilateral relations between Canada and Sri Lanka," the Business Council said in the awards program brochure. "To this end, Ms. Minna has worked tirelessly in the last decade supporting the peace initiatives in Sri Lanka. Her work with the Sri Lankan community in Canada is legendary."