Full Name
Carla Qualtrough
Job Title
Strategic Adviser
Company
Rick Hansen Foundation
Speaker Bio
From 2015 to 2025 Carla Qualtrough was the Member of Parliament for Delta, British Columbia and a federal Cabinet Minister. Her Cabinet roles included Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Minster of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, and Minister of Sport and Physical Activity. She served on senior federal Cabinet committees, including Economy, Inclusion and Climate (Chair); Global Affairs and Public Safety (Vice-Chair); Government Operations; Defence Procurement; and Litigation Management. She was also a member of Treasury Board. She represented Canada at the United Nations, the G7, the G20, and the Commonwealth.
As Canada’s first-ever Minister for persons with disabilities, Ms. Qualtrough created a legislative and policy framework for disability inclusion in Canada. She led the most inclusive pan-Canadian consultation on accessibility in history. She passed historic disability rights legislation, the Accessible Canada Act, which set a goal of making Canada barrier-free by 2040, established Accessible Standards Canada, and created the position of Chief Accessibility Officer for the Government of Canada. Ms. Qualtrough also created Canada’s first Disability Inclusion Action Plan, focused on financial security, employment, accessible communities, and accessible government. She also set up the national Disability Inclusion Business Council.
Ms. Qualtrough’s legal experience includes human rights, workers compensation, and administrative law. She received her law degree from the University of Victoria and was called to the Bar in British Columbia in 1998. She holds advanced certification in alternative dispute resolution from the University of Windsor Law School.
As an athlete, Ms. Qualtrough competed for Canada in the sport of swimming, winning multiple Paralympic and World Championship medals. She was President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Chair of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, and a Board member of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. She has been recognized as one of Canada’s most influential women in sport six times and has been inducted into both the BC Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame.
She has received awards from a number of national and international disability organizations including the International Paralympic Committee, Indigenous Disability Canada, the Disabled Women’s Network, the CNIB, Inclusion Canada, and March of Dimes Canada. Her other awards include the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
Ms. Qualtrough is Principal in the consultancy business CQ Solutions, which focuses on disability rights and inclusion. She currently represents the Province of British Columbia on the Delta Police Board and is the Chair of the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Meaningful Inclusion Committee.
Ms. Qualtrough has been legally blind since birth. She is bilingual in English and French. She lives in Ladner, BC with her husband Eron and their two youngest children.
As Canada’s first-ever Minister for persons with disabilities, Ms. Qualtrough created a legislative and policy framework for disability inclusion in Canada. She led the most inclusive pan-Canadian consultation on accessibility in history. She passed historic disability rights legislation, the Accessible Canada Act, which set a goal of making Canada barrier-free by 2040, established Accessible Standards Canada, and created the position of Chief Accessibility Officer for the Government of Canada. Ms. Qualtrough also created Canada’s first Disability Inclusion Action Plan, focused on financial security, employment, accessible communities, and accessible government. She also set up the national Disability Inclusion Business Council.
Ms. Qualtrough’s legal experience includes human rights, workers compensation, and administrative law. She received her law degree from the University of Victoria and was called to the Bar in British Columbia in 1998. She holds advanced certification in alternative dispute resolution from the University of Windsor Law School.
As an athlete, Ms. Qualtrough competed for Canada in the sport of swimming, winning multiple Paralympic and World Championship medals. She was President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Chair of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, and a Board member of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. She has been recognized as one of Canada’s most influential women in sport six times and has been inducted into both the BC Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame.
She has received awards from a number of national and international disability organizations including the International Paralympic Committee, Indigenous Disability Canada, the Disabled Women’s Network, the CNIB, Inclusion Canada, and March of Dimes Canada. Her other awards include the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
Ms. Qualtrough is Principal in the consultancy business CQ Solutions, which focuses on disability rights and inclusion. She currently represents the Province of British Columbia on the Delta Police Board and is the Chair of the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Meaningful Inclusion Committee.
Ms. Qualtrough has been legally blind since birth. She is bilingual in English and French. She lives in Ladner, BC with her husband Eron and their two youngest children.
Speaking At
