Minister O’Regan was appointed Minister of Natural Resources in 2019, with a mandate to put Canada’s natural resources sector at the forefront of the fight against climate change. This mandate includes planting two billion trees over ten years, developing low and zero emissions fuels for widespread adoption, and retrofitting homes and infrastructure to ensure peak energy efficiency.

Prior to this role, Minister O’Regan served as the Minister of Indigenous Services, where he oversaw the passage and implementation of laws affirming Indigenous jurisdiction over child and family services.

Minister O’Regan’s first Cabinet position was Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, where he reinstated lifelong pensions and introduced an Education and Training Benefit for Veterans.

Minister O’Regan is from St. John’s, Newfoundland, and was raised in Goose Bay, Labrador. He studied politics at St. Francis Xavier University and University College Dublin, and marketing strategies at the INSEAD Business School, near Paris.

He received his Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Cambridge, where he wrote his dissertation on Indigenous participation in large-scale natural resource development.

Minister O’Regan began his career in politics as Executive Assistant to the Minister of Justice and, later, Senior Policy Advisor to the Premier of Newfoundland & Labrador.

He’s known to many Canadians for his ten years as co-host of the country’s top morning news programme, Canada AM.

Over the years, he has championed causes dear to him, namely mental health, the arts, and the environment, sitting on the Board of WWF-Canada.

A quote in the subject:

“No democracy in the world has the wealth of natural resources that Canada does. So, building a low-emission energy future is important to us. We’re focused on net-zero by 2050, an economy that continues to grow and prosper, and leaving no energy worker or energy-producing region behind. We’re taking urgent and sustained action to effectively combat climate change.”