The Honourable Steven John Fletcher

Minister of State (Democratic Reform)

Steven Fletcher, Member of Parliament (Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia)

Steven Fletcher is the Minister of State for Democratic Reform. In his role as Minister he is responsible for Senate reform legislation, House of Commons seat distribution, the creation of a Canadian agency to promote democracy abroad and many other initiatives surrounding voter turn-out and Canadian democracy. Steven is one of five Ministers who serve on the Treasury Board cabinet committee.

During his time as Minister, Fletcher has introduced democratic reform legislation that will strengthen Canada’s democratic process.

Fletcher was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 in the west Winnipeg federal riding of Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia. He was re-elected in 2006 and 2008 with increasing margins. In the 2008 election he won with 54% of the vote or over 13,000 vote plurality.

After being first elected in 2004, he was appointed the Official Opposition Critic for Health and was a member of the Standing Committee on Health. When Prime Minister Stephen Harper became Prime Minister in 2006 he appointed Steven to the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health.

During his time as health critic, Fletcher championed compensation for the “forgotten victims” of Hepatitis C. He also worked with other parties to dramatically reduce trans-fats from the Canadian Food Supply.  

Fletcher brought forth and championed a motion in parliament expressing the need for the full implementation and funding of the National Cancer Control Strategy, and a National Approach for Mental Health and Heart Disease. Stevens’s efforts culminated when the Conservative government was elected in 2006, as the government committed to fully fund and implement the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control. The Conservative government went on to establish the National Mental Health Commission and the national framework for dealing with Cardio-vascular Disease.

For his efforts, Fletcher is a recipient of the National Cancer Leadership Forum’s (NCLF) inaugural Award for Outstanding Individual Leadership (2006) and the Canadian Cancer Society’s Courage and Leadership Award (2006). Fletcher is also a recipient of the Champions of Mental Health award (2006) for his work in raising awareness for Mental Health.

Fletcher has been inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame (2005), received the King Clancy Award (2004), is the recipient of her Majesty's Golden Jubilee Medal (2003) for his contributions to Canada and received the Christopher Reeve Award from the Canadian Paraplegic Association (2010).

Prior to his election, Mr. Fletcher worked as an engineer in the Mining Industry until an automobile collision with a moose, left him a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. He returned to University where he obtained a Master's in Business Administration (MBA).

Mr. Fletcher has a Bachelor in Science degree in Engineering (B.Sc.GE) from the University of Manitoba. He is also the first permanently disabled Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1972, and he lives in Winnipeg.

A biography of Steven’s life was released in the fall of 2008 called “What do you do if you don’t Die” The Steven Fletcher Story. The biography is written by Linda McIntosh.