Karina Gould - The Story of Burlington's Voice in Parliament

Meeting someone like Karina Gould is not an everyday occurrence for me. I got to the interview early, and I sat around fidgeting with one of the books at Indigo at Burlington Centre waiting for her arrival. She’s been the Member of Parliament for Burlington for nearly a decade. Karina is also the youngest female cabinet minister in Canadian history.

Doing anything for a decade and succeeding in it, would warrant admiration from almost anyone. What I was curious about— what made her a lasting presence and how does she stay so firmly rooted in this position?

I looked up from my table, surrounded by books, to see Karina walking towards me; I could sense her enthusiasm from her smiling face. A no-nonsense, ready-to-talk vibe radiated from her. Karina was ready to go. I think I now know why she’s lasted so long.

Born in Guelph, Karina has lived in Burlington since she could crawl. The story of how she got here had quite a bit to do with her late mother.

“My mom was a veterinarian, and so just after she went to OVC at the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, she then had me two years after she graduated,” Karina shared. “She bought an animal hospital here in Burlington, Askey Animal Hospital, which is on Fairview and Walkers. So, she had a baby, bought a clinic, and moved to Burlington. All within a year. She was extraordinary.”

Her dad lives in Burlington, and she is the oldest of four children, with three younger brothers. “I have serious eldest daughter syndrome. But I’ve got an amazing family," Karina shared. “You know, my family has a diverse background. My mom was a German immigrant with a Lutheran background . My grandparents came from Czechoslovakia from my dad’s side. They were Jewish Holocaust survivors, and so multiculturalism was always really important."

Karina attended M.M. Robinson High School, and then went to volunteer for a year at an orphanage in Mexico. That’s where she met her future husband. This year they would be celebrating 20 years together – married for 15.

Afterwards, she attended McGill University in Montreal and studied political science. Politics has been her passion since she was a teenager.

“I got involved in politics when I was 14. When I was in grade 9, I joined the Liberal Party. I did my research to find out which were the parties that I thought most aligned,” Karina said. “And I was always really inspired by Jean Chrétien. I was in French immersion, so bilingualism was really important to me.”

The following year when Karina was in Grade 10, she interviewed Paddy Torsney, the MP of Burlington at the time, for her civics class.

“I wanted to know what it was like to be a member of Parliament. And then she asked me to volunteer on her campaign. And I did,” Karina said. “I was always interested in politics, but I didn't see myself as the candidate or a future member of Parliament. I thought I would be staff. I thought I would be in the background.”

Little did Karina know that she would be anything but the background. After McGill, Karina went to Washington, D.C. working as a consultant for the Organization of American States and their migration and development program.

She then traveled to England to obtain her master’s degree in international relations from the University of Oxford. This led her to her position working for the Mexican government in Toronto in their trade office.

“Before I was in politics, I was working in international affairs. When I worked at the Organization of American States; it’s kind of like the United Nations, but just for the Western hemisphere. I was doing work on migration across the hemisphere,” Karina said. “And then, I also worked in the Mexican government, promoting trade between Canada and Mexico. I’d probably do that if I wasn’t doing politics.”

Her decision to enter politics came in 2014.

“I was having lunch with a mentor of mine, and they asked me how old I was, and I was like, 26 and they're like, you're almost 30. I was like, don't think so. Like, 26 is not that close to 30. And then they said, you should really think about running. And I was like, what is going on? Why do you care about my age? And why do you want me to exercise? Like, what is going on?” Karina shared. “And they were like, No, not for exercise, for office. And I think my jaw hit the floor, because I was like, I'm 26 I just finished my masters, I just started working. Like, what are you talking about? And they were like, well you always talk about getting more young people and more women involved in politics. And you're a young woman, so I think it's time to walk the talk.”

Karina decided right there to seek the Liberal nomination as MP for Burlington, and at the age of 28, in 2015, she was elected, and has held the position for almost 10 years now.

This millennial seems to take opportunities as they come; and has stated that this is her main motto in life.

“Just walk through open doors. Oftentimes, you don't see a door when it's open in front of you, but walk through it. I know there's a saying, when one door closes, another one opens, but you have to be able to walk through it. Don't be afraid,” Karina said. “I think when I decided to run back in 2014 my philosophy was, the worst thing that could happen is I'm going to lose the election. And then I carry on with my life and do something else, right? Or you ask someone for a vote, a donation, support, and again, the worst thing that they can say is no. So just try.”

Earlier this year, after Prime Minister Trudeau announced his resignation, Karina announced that she would place her bid in the race to become the Liberal Party’s new leader. She didn’t win, but she says the experience was invaluable and she learned a lot.

“It was great to be able to travel around the country and meet with folks and get a sense of what matters for them. Honestly, things are pretty similar like in Burlington,” Karina said. “People are worried about President Trump. They're worried about our sovereignty, housing prices, grocery prices, etc. People are still very concerned about the environment, and they're concerned about their kids’ future.”'

With the upcoming federal election, Karina is ready to continue on her mission.

“Hopefully we get re-elected as a liberal government, and I'll be part of Prime Minister Carney’s team; but I'm still going to keep advocating for the things that I believe in and that I heard people across the country believe in as well,” Karina said.

Karina highlighted two major issues she wants to address in her upcoming vision for Burlington as MP. The first being industry; particularly those impacted by the tariff war.

“Number one is we have to protect our industries here in Burlington and the surrounding area. Knocking on doors last week, I spoke to a guy who works at Ford and he's just been laid off,” Karina said. “My commitment, and the Liberal party's commitment, is to make sure that we're there for folks who are impacted by the tariffs from the United States, first and foremost.”

The second issue is housing and affordability.

“People are struggling with rent. They're struggling to be able to try to buy a house in Burlington. It’s extremely expensive. We need to build more stock, we need to build a diversity of stock, not just in Burlington, but across the country. And that's really important for me,” Karina shared. “One model that I really love, and I think we need to get back to as a federal government, is more federal co-ops. We have some really great federal co-ops here in Burlington that enables people to get into the housing market at a lower price point.”

Karina’s life is not an ordinary one. With her time being divided between Ottawa and Burlington, she says her husband is her biggest support system.

“He is the support system. He's not that interested in the public side of things. But he is absolutely the support system,” Karina shared. “He makes it possible for me to be the MP, he makes it possible for us to have had children and makes sure that they are well looked after and cared for. He’s mostly a stay-at-home dad.”

When asked how does she balances work and home life, her blunt answer was, “I don’t.”

“What I say to people is that work-life balance in my life is not something I do everyday. It's kind of like some days are more balanced towards work and some days are more balanced towards life,” Karina said. “It just doesn't work that way when you're in politics. When I'm in Ottawa, for example, my life is 100% work. Then when I’m home, I try to make it much more balanced towards my kids and my husband.”

There are many times when Karina has to be in Ottawa, and her husband and the kids stay at home because their life is in Burlington. She usually flies out Monday morning and comes home Thursday night. Karina was the first woman to have a child while serving as a federal minister. She has a son and a daughter.

“When my son was born in 2018, my husband and him for the first year, came to Ottawa because I only took 10 weeks of maternity leave; because there was no maternity leave for members of Parliament,” Karina shared. “So I had actually brought forward, in partnership with other political parties in the House of Commons, a parental leave for MPs. And now we also have the hybrid option in Ottawa.”

In 2019 the House of Commons approved a legislation that provides MP parents of newborns up to 12 months with paid parental leave benefits. Karina benefited from this with her second child in 2024.

“And what's really cool for me is after the 2021 election, and we went back into the house, there were MPs from all of the opposition parties who were there with their babies,” Karina said. “It’s really cool to see how what you do, can actually change the nature of the place where you work.”

Aside from work Karina loves to hike, particularly in some of the lesser-known paths on the Bruce Trail.

“We are so rich in nature in this area and that is, you know, one of the reasons why I never moved to Toronto,” Karina said. “Because I couldn't imagine, having to drive two hours to get to nature.”

Karina also makes sure she makes time for some good local food.

“My husband's Mexican, so we eat a lot of really amazing Mexican. Por Vida in Bronte is really good. (Oakville).” Karina shared. “I also love Familia Fine Foods, and if you go on Saturday, they do really amazing Colombian food. I love Thai food as well. A place that I love now is on Plains Road called Thai Senses.”

Karina had some advice to anyone aspiring to be in politics; particularly women.

“Just believe in yourself. You can do it. If you're worried about imposter syndrome, literally, everybody has it. Don't worry about it. Just roll with it,” Karina said. “The thing that I have learned and come to appreciate, is that the way that you grow is by doing something you don't know how to do. And so just embrace it and go for it; and you're going to kick butt.”

You can say kicking butt is what Karina does—it seems like limits aren’t a part of her plan.  

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1. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

Usually my one-year-old wakes me up, so I go get her from her crib, and we have a little cuddle. So cuddle.

2. What is your favorite thing to wear?

I love wearing a power suit and high heels. I’m 5’6. I’m not that tall, but I like to think I'm taller than I am.

3. If you could pick one word to describe you what would it be?

Tenacious.

4. What’s one beauty tip you would pass on?

Eyelashes, I think if you wear mascara, you’re good to go.

5. Everyday is better with:

Tea.