Thinks the minority Trudeau government will last to the scheduled 2025 election
Four years after first being elected as the Member of Parliament for the Laval riding of Vimy, Liberal MP Annie Koutrakis is recollecting on the two mandates she received, as well as some of the crises she found herself facing.
Two elections in four years
“So many differences – the world is a different place from when I was first elected in 20109,” she said in an interview last week with the Laval News during a pause from one of her many engagements.
Although four years is the average length of a term in office for most politicians, Koutrakis is already in the midst of her second. First elected in the 2019 federal general election, she was re-elected in 2021 when the Trudeau government decided to hold a snap election.
She won the nomination from Vimy Liberal riding association members in early September 2019, with the election itself taking place on Oct 21. She was re-elected in the next general election which took place on Sept. 20 two years ago.
Was promoted quickly
Prior to entering politics, Koutrakis, who is fluently trilingual (French, English and Greek), had been an investment councillor and business administrator. Shortly before being elected, she was elected president of the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal (HCGM) – the first woman to hold that position.
For a neophyte politician, her rise within the Trudeau government has been noteworthy. She is currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.
As well, she sits as a member on several parliamentary committees: the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities,
and the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament.
A learning experience
“It’s a real honour to have been entrusted with the portfolio that I have been,” said Koutrakis. “I have an amazing team of colleagues who are helping. We have an amazing staff.” She said several of the committee portfolios are interconnected.
Koutrakis acknowledged that she faced a steep learning curve after she was first elected. “There was a lot to learn, because this was the first time I stood for election,” she said. “I had to make sure that my constituency office was up and running and the right people were around me to help me.
“It was steep, but you know what – that’s how you grow,” she continued. “You move out of your comfort zone. And I’ve always been a very hard worker. Some people say I’m an overachiever. But I stood up to the challenge and I think I’m better for it and it’s very humbling.”
An early election?
With two years left in the Trudeau government’s current mandate (an election could be held by late 2025 if the minority government manages to hold onto the support it receives from the NDP), Koutrakis speculated on the future political scenario.
“It’s a very, very tough political landscape,” she admitted. “We do have supply agreements in place with the NDP party. And as long as we have that agreement in place, we foresee the next elections to be 2025. But with any minority government, you never know. I mean, we agree on issues now.
Not before 2025, she says
“But it doesn’t mean that tomorrow,” she added. “Some people say that a day in politics is an eternity. I remain optimistic that we will go to the next elections of 2025. There’s no indication right now to say otherwise. People are going through a very difficult time right now with affordability and housing.
“We’re very much aware of that. Our government is trying to give as much help as we can, but focused help, not to everybody at large, but to families that really need it. So, I think that as long as we’ve got the backs of Canadians and we work hard, I’m hoping that we will see the next elections in 2025.”
