# Marc Miller (politician)

Marc Miller PC MP (born March 12, 1973) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs in the House of Commons in the 2015 election. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, he served as Minister of Indigenous Services from 2019 to 2021, Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations from 2021 to 2023, and Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship from 2023 to 2025.

## Early life and education

An anglophone Montrealer, Miller is the son of Pamela (Gales) and Carman Miller, a military historian and Dean of Arts at McGill. He attended Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf in the 1980s at the same time as Justin Trudeau, and has been described variously as "a boyhood friend of Mr. Trudeau" and "one of Trudeau's oldest friends." Miller earned bachelor's and master's degrees in political science from the Université de Montréal.
Miller graduated from McGill University Faculty of Law in 2001 with common and civil law degrees. Before his election, Miller practised law at Stikeman Elliott. Miller also previously served in the Canadian Army Primary Reserve as an infantry officer.

## Federal politics

Miller helped organize Trudeau's first run for office in Papineau in 2007. He was an advisor and the fundraising director for Trudeau's successful run at the 2013 Liberal Party leadership election.

### 42nd Canadian Parliament

Miller was elected in the 2015 federal election to represent the riding of Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs in the 42nd Canadian Parliament. After the election, he served as the chair of the Quebec Liberal Caucus of MPs.
On January 28, 2017, Miller was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. On June 1, 2017, Miller delivered the first speech in the Mohawk language in the House of Commons. Miller said he had started taking language lessons from Zoe Hopkins in the spirit of reconciliation. He also wanted to demonstrate to the non-French speaking Liberal MPs whom he had urged to study French in his former role as the Quebec Liberal Caucus chair that it was possible to juggle learning a new language while performing their parliamentary duties.
On August 31, 2018, he was moved to be the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations.

### 43rd Canadian Parliament

On November 20, 2019, just after the 2019 Canadian federal election to the 43rd Canadian Parliament, he was sworn in as Minister of Indigenous Services.

### 44th Canadian Parliament

On October 26, 2021, just after the 2021 Canadian federal election to the 44th Canadian Parliament, Miller was named the Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations, replacing Carolyn Bennett.
On July 26, 2023, Miller became the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. After Miller replaced Sean Fraser, he announced the 2024–2026 immigration levels plan for permanent residents, with 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026. Canada's population grew by over 2.3 million in two years (July 2022–July 2024), the highest growth seen since the 1950s. With increasing unemployment and continued housing and affordability issues, Miller initially said reducing immigration targets was not feasible but he later signalled there could be an adjustment coming in November 2024. Miller claims high population growth has prevented two recessions. He also called the insinuation the Liberal government dramatically increased immigration targets to secure votes in future elections, "political hooey". Polls show immigrants who have been in the country longer than six years do not plan to vote Liberal in the next federal election.
There was a rise in international students requesting asylum in 2023. In January 2024, Miller announced a two-year cap on international student permits. Miller also signalled the number of temporary foreign workers would be reconsidered. On October 24, 2024, after increasing immigration targets each year since taking power in 2015 (excluding the COVID pandemic), the Liberal government announced they were reducing the number of permanent residents by 20%, commencing in 2025. By 2027, the number of permanent residents would be 365,000, down from the previously proposed target of 500,000. The new target was in the middle of what economists recommended but higher than the 300,000 target the government followed before Justin Trudeau was elected. During the press conference, Miller claimed rent in Vancouver and Toronto had decreased since the government reduced the number of study permits by 43% the previous year. With lower permanent resident targets Miller believes 670,000 fewer housing units will be needed by the end of 2027. A report from the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer released on November 15 said the revised immigration targets will only reduce the housing gap by 534,000 units by 2030. The government plans to continue reducing the temporary resident population from 7% to 5% in the coming years. Miller stated, "This shows that we are listening to Canadians. It shows that we have a controlled immigration plan that we can be proud of." A report by Desjardins Group released in February 2025, stated although fewer international students were admitted, overall population growth in Canada was largely unchanged and the government would need more aggressive reductions to achieve its revised lower population targets.
Miller's plan to disperse asylum seekers across the country, in September 2024, was met with pushback from some premiers.
On August 14, 2024, Miller said he was "disgusted" with the case of Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, who was made a citizen of Canada after he had beheaded someone on film when he was part of the terrorist group ISIS in 2018. Eldidi would have gone unnoticed until a tip from police in France notified the RCMP of a conspiracy to terrorize Canadians while the 2024 Paris Olympics were ongoing. Eldidi and his son were apprehended with bombs at a hotel in Toronto on July 28 and charged with terrorism, possession of weapons and conspiracy to commit murder for the Islamic State.
In October 2024, Miller defended the Prime Minister when some Liberal MPs expressed their concern over projected losses in the 2025 Canadian federal election if Trudeau remained in power. After Trudeau stepped down, Miller declined to run in the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election and chose to back candidate Mark Carney.
Mark Carney did not select Miller for a cabinet post in the 30th Canadian Ministry.

## Personal life

Miller married Elin Sandberg, a former Swedish diplomat, whom he met at a party while both were studying at the Université de Montréal. Together, they have three children, two boys named Marius and Lukas and a girl named Eva.
Miller is fluent in both English and French, and also speaks Mohawk.

## Electoral record

2021 Canadian federal election: Ville-Marie–Le Sud-Ouest–Île-des-Sœurs :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Marc Miller | 24,978 | 50.5 | -3.0 | $105,431.45 |
| | New Democratic | Sophie Thiébaut | 9,241 | 18.7 | +2.9 | $12,104.90 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Soledad Orihuela-Bouchard | 6,176 | 12.5 | -0.6 | $2,242.01 |
| | Conservative | Steve Shanahan | 6,138 | 12.4 | +3.6 | $3,084.59 |
| | Green | Cynthia Charbonneau-Lavictoire | 1,343 | 2.7 | -4.4 | $0.00 |
| | People's | Denise Dubé | 1,291 | 2.6 | +1.6 | $552.90 |
| | Marijuana | Hans Armando Vargas | 134 | 0.3 | N/A | $0.00 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Linda Sullivan | 122 | 0.2 | +0.1 | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 49,423 | 98.6 | – | $116,716.76 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 689 | 1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,112 | 57.0 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 87,943 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | -3.0 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2019 Canadian federal election: Ville-Marie–Le Sud-Ouest–Île-des-Sœurs :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Marc Miller | 28,087 | 53.47 | +2.65 | $105,389.48 |
| | New Democratic | Sophie Thiébaut | 8,274 | 15.75 | -7.69 | $19,083.09 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Nadia Bourque | 6,899 | 13.13 | +4.54 | none listed |
| | Conservative | Michael Forian | 4,609 | 8.78 | -3.08 | $24,699.31 |
| | Green | Liana Canton Cusmano | 3,718 | 7.08 | +2.3 | $1,593.95 |
| | People's | Jean Langlais | 520 | 0.99 | – | none listed |
| | Rhinoceros | Tommy Gaudet | 140 | 0.27 | -0.05 | none listed |
| | Independent | Louise O'Sullivan | 117 | 0.22 | – | none listed |
| | No affiliation | Marc Patenaude | 113 | 0.22 | – | none listed |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Linda Sullivan | 45 | 0.09 | – | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 52,522 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 601 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,123 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 88,117 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | +5.17 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2015 Canadian federal election: Ville-Marie–Le Sud-Ouest–Île-des-Sœurs :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Marc Miller | 25,491 | 50.82 | +23.34 | $104,027.97 |
| | New Democratic | Allison Turner | 11,757 | 23.44 | -18.05 | $76,667.01 |
| | Conservative | Steve Shanahan | 5,948 | 11.86 | -0.05 | $10,419.44 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Chantal St-Onge | 4,307 | 8.59 | -7.44 | $2,334.04 |
| | Green | Daniel Green | 2,398 | 4.78 | +1.99 | $84,091.06 |
| | Rhinoceros | Daniel Wolfe | 161 | 0.32 | – | – |
| | Communist | Bill Sloan | 102 | 0.20 | – | – |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 50,164 | 100.00 | – | $221,982.87 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 435 | 0.86 | – | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,599 | 59.96 | – | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 84,387 | – | – | – |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||