Jennifer French (politician)

Jennifer Kay French (born 1978) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who was elected in 2014. She represents the riding of Oshawa.

Background
French was born in Winchester, Ontario, near Ottawa. She grew up in the United States after moving there with her family. She returned to Canada to attend Queen's University where she earned a bachelor's degree in biology. She spent three years teaching in Japan before returning to earn a master's degree in science with a teaching specialty. She moved to Oshawa where she spent eight years teaching elementary school.

Politics
French ran in the 2014 provincial election as the New Democratic candidate in the riding of Oshawa. She defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent Jerry Ouellette by 7,692 votes.

She was the party's critic for pension issues, switched to critic for Community Safety and Correctional Services on March 23, 2015, and then to critic of Youth Engagement and critic of Citizenship and Immigration as of December 2, 2016.

She was reelected in the 2018 and 2022 elections.