Natalia Kusendova-Bashta

Natalia Kusendova-Bashta is a Canadian politician who serves as the Ontario Minister of Long-Term Care and has served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2018. She represents the riding of Mississauga Centre as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

Before entering politics, Kusendova-Bashta worked as a nurse.

Background
Kusendova-Bashta holds Bachelor of Science degrees in human and molecular biology from the University of Toronto and in nursing from Nipissing University. In addition, she speaks five languages: English, Polish, French, Czech and Slovak. Kusendova-Bashta is of Slovak and Polish descent.

Political career
Kusendova-Bashta was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 Ontario election.

In March 2020, while the province was under a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, Kusendova-Bashta started taking 12-hour shifts three days per week in the emergency department at Etobicoke General Hospital. In September 2020, Kusendova-Bashta's bill to recognize the Franco-Ontarian flag as an emblem of the province of Ontario was passed by the Ontario legislature and into law.

Kusendova-Bashta was re-elected in the 2022 provincial election. On June 6, 2024, she was elevated to the executive council during a cabinet shuffle in which she was appointed Minister of Long-Term Care by Premier Doug Ford.