Kirsty Duncan, the former Liberal cabinet minister and five-time member of Parliament for Etobicoke North, died on Jan. 26, 2026, at the age of 59, after a years-long battle with cancer that she had spoken about publicly while continuing to serve in Parliament.
‘A life defined by kindness and service’
Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a statement of condolence the same day. “Today, I join Canadians in mourning the passing of the Honourable Kirsty Duncan,” he said. “Kirsty’s life was defined by kindness and service.”
Carney recalled the career she had before politics. “Before public office, she was a teacher and a scientist. She was internationally recognised for leading an Arctic expedition to uncover the origins of the 1918 influenza pandemic. As an educator, she helped pioneer Canadian scholarship in meteorology, climatology, and climate change, and helped shape how a generation understood our world and its future.”
“Elected to Parliament five times, Kirsty brought the same purpose to political life. She helped break barriers and inequities as the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, and fought for the values of truth and objectivity as the Minister of Science. Her contributions to Parliament gave science and research a clearer, louder voice in our democracy,” the statement said. “Her curiosity and generosity inspired Canadians across the country. My deepest condolences to Kirsty’s family, friends, colleagues, and to all who learned from her work.”
From the Arctic to the cabinet table
Duncan, born Oct. 31, 1966, earned a PhD in geography from the University of Edinburgh and taught geography, climatology and human health at the University of Windsor and the University of Toronto. As a medical geographer, she led an international expedition to Svalbard, Norway, to recover samples from the bodies of 1918 flu victims buried in permafrost, work recounted in her book Hunting the 1918 Flu. She was also a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
She was first elected in 2008 as the Liberal MP for the Toronto riding of Etobicoke North and re-elected four more times, serving until she chose not to run in the 2025 federal election. In Justin Trudeau’s cabinet she served as minister of science, minister of sport and persons with disabilities, and later as deputy leader of the government in the House of Commons. As sports minister she made safe sport a central issue, pressing for reforms and safety measures for athletes.
Working through illness
Duncan was diagnosed with cancer and took a medical leave from Parliament beginning Jan. 26, 2023 — exactly three years before her death — to focus on treatment, describing it publicly as involving “multiple operations, radiation and chemotherapy” over many months. She remained an MP during her illness and returned to speak in the House, telling colleagues in October 2024 that she was grateful to the doctors, scientists and health care professionals whose work “allowed me to work every day for the community I love.”
Tributes following her death remembered a politician respected across party lines for evidence-based advocacy — for science, for research, and for the constituents she represented for more than 16 years.
