About Hon. Peter Kent, P.C., M.P

Peter Kent was first elected to the House of Commons in October, 2008.

Prior to his election, Mr Kent was an award-winning broadcast journalist (*) having spent more than 40 years working as a writer, reporter, producer, anchor and senior executive in Canada, the United States and around the world.

Internationally, he covered stories that shaped the 20th Century, including momentous events such as the Vietnam and Yom Kippur wars, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.

In his first term as an MP, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed him Minister of State of Foreign Affairs with particular responsibility for the Americas.   He brings a wealth of experience to the Americas assignment from his days as a correspondent with NBC News working the hemisphere from Miami.    His beat spanned an era when many countries of the region struggled to survive communism and narco-terrorism.

In his new capacity, Minister Kent is promoting Canada’s Americas Policy to bolster democracy, prosperity and security across the hemisphere.  In his new capacity he has worked with fellow ministers and officials of the Organization of American States to address the constitutional crisis in Honduras and the eventual re-admittance of Cuba to full OAS membership status.

Mr Kent has a long record of community service.   He was a member of the Ontario Cabinet of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, served on the board of  Honest Reporting Canada, ParticipACTION, and The Accessible Channel, and is a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism.    He has also served as a mentor with the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council and remains an active supporter of the Toronto Conservatory of Music, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.


*Awards and honours include Canadian Actra awards for reportage in Cambodia and Poland, Emmy nominations for journalistic endeavour in South Africa, Mexico and Berlin, and the Robert F Kennedy Award for a series challenges in US inner cities.
Mr Kent is a member of the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame.