Jamil Jivani (born October 24, 1987) is a Canadian politician who has been a member of Parliament (MP) since 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, Jivani represents Bowmanville—Oshawa North. He was first elected to represent Durham in a 2024 by-election triggered by the resignation of former Conservative leader and leader of the Official Opposition Erin O'Toole.
Before entering politics, Jivani studied law at Yale University. He practiced corporate law at Torys LLP, worked as a community-police relations activist, was a contributor for Postmedia and hosted a radio show on CFRB Newstalk 1010. He previously worked as a special advisor to the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, and was appointed as the advocate for community opportunities and to the Premier's Council on Equality of Opportunity.
Early life and education Jivani was born in Toronto, Ontario, to a Kenyan Muslim father and a Christian mother of Scottish and Irish descent.https://x.com/jamiljivani/status/1544357399577911296?lang=en His father was adopted and raised by a Muslim Indian family, hence the Indian surname. He grew up with his two sisters, raised by their mother in Brampton, Ontario. Jivani also has two stepbrothers through his father's side. After attending Fletcher’s Creek Senior Public School, then Mississauga's Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School, Jivani attended Humber College and York University.
In 2013, he earned his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.Keung, Nicholas. "Yale University law grad Jamil Jivani has a message for other struggling kids" , Toronto Star, Toronto, 14 July 2013. Retrieved on 10 June 2014."GTA students excelling academically in the U.S." , Share News, Toronto, 19 June 2013. Retrieved on 10 June 2014. Before attending law school, Jivani worked as a dishwasher and line cook in local Toronto area restaurants.Getachew, Samuel. "A Journey From Dishwashing To Yale Law" , Huffington Post, 9 October 2012. Retrieved on 10 June 2014. While a student at Yale, Jivani was Program Director of the Yale Chapter of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy ProjectYale Law School. "Yale Law School Hosts Area High School Students at Third Annual Marshall-Brennan Moot Court Competition" , New Haven, CT, 30 March 2012. Retrieved on 10 June 2014. and President of the Yale Black Law Students Association.Yale Law School. "Justice Clarence Thomas ’74 Visits the Law School" , New Haven, CT, 14 December 2011. Retrieved on 10 June 2014.Rodriguez-Florido, Liz. "Panel outlines changes in hip-hop" , Yale Daily News, New Haven, CT, 29 February 2012. Retrieved on 10 June 2014. He was also part of the Innovations in Policing Clinic, in which he authored a case study of police-community relations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Yale Law School. "Innovations in Policing Clinic" , New Haven, CT. Retrieved on 10 June 2014.
Jivani also interned at the office of Cory Booker, the then-mayor of Newark, and current Democratic Senior United States Senator from New Jersey. Jivani later revealed in 2020 that for a few years after law school, he was a card-carrying member of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Relationship with JD Vance At Yale, he became the best friend and a classmate of future Republican Vice President of the United States, JD Vance. Between 2016 until it closed in 2018, Jivani helped run the charity organization Our Ohio Renewal, founded by Vance; Jivani later stated the group's work was derailed because of his cancer diagnosis. In January 2026, he visited Washington, D.C. and met with Vance amid the 2025–26 United States trade war with Canada; Jivani also stated that he spoke with U.S. president Donald Trump during the visit. Other members of the Conservative caucus expressed concerns about what they saw as "freelance diplomacy." In a speech given to donors at an event in Southhampton, New York. U.S. Vice President JD Vance referred to Jivani as a "pretty effective advocate" "But the quiet sort of behind-the-scenes story is that this, like, random MP who has a good relationship with us has been a pretty effective advocate,"
- U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
Early career
Activism As a teenager, he participated in the Five Percent Nation, a radical group, by attending online and in person meetings.
In 2013, Jivani founded the Policing Literacy Initiative (PLI), a youth-driven public education and advocacy group focused on community safety issues.Policing Literacy Initiative. "PLI Home Page" . Retrieved on 10 June 2014. Jivani stated to CBC Metro Morning that the purpose of PLI is to spotlight progressive voices among police and community groups and work with them to find common solutions.CBC Metro Morning. "Policing Minorities" , Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 22 May 2014. Retrieved on 10 June 2014. Jivani wrote an editorial for the National Post in February 2014 about his experience with Toronto Police and the Office of the Independent Police Review Director and the use of mediated conversations for citizen complaints.Jivani, Jamil. "Not happy with the police? Try talking to them", National Post, 6 February 2014. Retrieved on 10 June 2014. In April 2014, Jivani co-produced with Dan Epstein a documentary about police-community relations titled "Crisis of Distrust: Police and Community in Toronto."Spurr, Ben. "A matter of trust , NOW Magazine. Retrieved on 10 June 2014.Cole, Desmond. "Torontonians Speak Out About Police Carding" , Torontoist, 23 May 2014. Retrieved on 10 June 2014.
Jivani was a 2013–14 Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance DiverseCity Fellow.Eastwood, Joel. "DiverseCity Fellows focus on youth unemployment" , Toronto Star, Toronto, 3 October 2013. Retrieved on 10 June 2014."DiverseCity Fellows focus on youth unemployment" , Share News, Toronto, 15 November 2013. Retrieved on 10 June 2014. As a Fellow, he co-founded Teachers Beyond the Classroom, which seeks to "help thousands of unemployed teachers transfer their skills to non-school employment opportunities across the Greater Toronto Area."Criscione, Peter. "Emerging leaders make their pitch to improve GTA" , Mississauga News, Toronto, 7 April 2014. Retrieved on 10 June 2014. He served on the Board of Directors of the Children's Aid Society of Toronto until 2017. On February 13, 2014, Jivani was named Yale Alumni Magazine's Newsmaker of the Week.Bass, Carole. "Jamil Jivani ’13JD: Yale blue, police blue" , Yale Alumni Magazine, 13 February 2014. Retrieved on 10 June 2014.
Legal career Following his graduation from Yale, he practised corporate law at Torys LLP. Jivani held research and teaching appointments at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Think Tank Fellow In 2020, he was appointed senior fellow for Diversity and Empowerment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a conservative, libertarian think tank affiliated with the US Atlas Network. His association with the Institute ended in 2023. He later became president of the Canada Strong and Free Network, but stepped down to announce his candidacy for the Conservative nomination in Durham.
Punditry and dismissal from Bell He has written about youth and equality issues for Huffington Post."Entries by Jamil Jivani" , Huffington Post. Retrieved on 10 June 2014. and has articles published frequently in Postmedia chains.
On September 8, 2020, Bell Media announced that Jamil Jivani would host a new weekday nightly radio talk show Tonight with Jamil Jivani, from 10:00 PM – 11:00 PM. The show would air on CFRB and across the iHeart Radio Network. In February 2021, Bell Media went under a corporate restructuring within its radio division. It was announced Jamil Jivani would move to the 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM time slot and his show would be rebranded as The Jamil Jivani Show.
Jivani was later fired from Bell Media, which he claimed was due to him not conforming to Black stereotypes. In August 2022, Jamil Jivani sued Bell Media for wrongful dismissal and breach of contract. Bell filed a statement of defence, claiming that Jivani was let go because he showed disdain for concerns raised by Bell management over issues such as avoiding pushing back against COVID-19 misinformation and misgendering Demi Lovato.
Political career On December 11, 2019, the Government of Ontario appointed Jivani as the province's first Advocate for Community Opportunities. In this role, and as a Special Advisor to the Premier, Jivani opened lines of communication between communities and the government to empower community members and enabled them to increase their participation in government decision-making. Critics, such as his former mentor Neil Price, felt that Jivani used his role to criticize the communities that he was supposed to uplift. He was reappointed on April 1, 2022, but resigned on June 9 after criticizing Education Minister Stephen Lecce on social media over the closure of schools and vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario.
Jivani moderated the first unofficial debate during the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election where he took aim at Patrick Brown, who skipped the debate by arguing that he was manipulating diaspora politics to boost his campaign. An official working for Brown said that the party should welcome new Canadians to the party.
Member of Parliament
On April 20, 2023, Jivani announced that he would run for the Conservative nomination in Durham riding, following the resignation of Erin O'Toole. On August 20, 2023, he won the nomination race, defeating Theresa Corless, a former Durham Catholic School Board chair.
He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Conservative for the Ontario riding of Durham in a by-election held on March 4, 2024. Jivani's victory speech criticized "the liberal elites who run the Ontario Ministry of Education in this province". When asked by reporters, Education Minister Stephen Lecce dismissed Jivani's comments as his concern. While Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford responded to Jivani's comments by stating that while he wished the best for Jivani, Ford believed that he helped launch Jivani's career. After Lecce was shuffled out of education portfolio, Jivani referred to it as "a great day" for education. Nick Kouvalis, a political operative associated with Doug Ford responded that Jivani had "a wide berth" so far because of leader Pierre Poilievre and his advisor Jenni Byrne. He warned Jivani to watch his next moves since Lecce was under "his protection.
Upon re-election on April 28, 2025, Jivani revisited his criticism of Ford during a post-victory interview with the CBC, in which he dismissed Ford's political acumen and called him an "opportunist", stating that Ford "has taken the provincial conservatives and turned it into something hollow." Jivani later supported Project Ontario, an initiative to push Ford in a more conservative direction.
Restore the North On September 6, 2025, Jivani announced the launch of the Restore the North, a national initiative trying to get young Canadian men to participate in politics. On October 3, 2025, Jivani announced the launch of a Restore the North Campus Tour which are modelled after the Turning Point USA campus tours which were led by Charlie Kirk. These tours have been described as part debate, part rally, and part recruitment drive. Jivani has stated that he wants to expand the movement by igniting a national conversation aimed at addressing policy gaps to help young men.
Political views Jivani has been characterized as a Black conservative and a leading proponent of national conservatism in Canada. He has advocated for national conservative ideas about nationalism, the role of government, and race and Canada returning to the ideals of the Reform Party. Jivani has stated that his views were shaped by his father who abandoned his family when he was in elementary school by arguing that he was trying to find male role models.
Race and culture