Joy Smith

Joy Smith holds a Bachelor's Degree (B.Ed.) and a Master's Degree (M.Ed.) in education and was a teacher for 23 years. She is also a best-selling author and a recipient of the Hedley Award for Excellence in Research. She was nominated as Manitoba's Woman Entrepreneur of the Year. She is also a wife and mother of six children. Joy Smith served as Member of Parliament for Kildonan - St. Paul (2004-2015) and Member of the Manitoba Legislature (MLA) for Fort Garry (1999-2003) and served as critic for Justice, Education, and Intergovernmental (Urban) Affairs. She also led the Manitoba Task Force for Building Sustainable Communities.

Mrs. Smith is recognized as one of Canada's leading anti-human trafficking activists. Following her election in 2004, Mrs. Smith led the discussion on human trafficking at a national level which resulted important changes in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Her continued efforts to raise the issue of human trafficking on the Status of Women Committee resulted in an intensive study of the issue by the committee and the release of highly regarded report on human trafficking in 2007 called Turning Outrage Into Action. One of her major achievements was the unanimous passing by the House of Commons in 2007 of her Private Members Motion M-153 on human trafficking which called on Parliament to condemn the trafficking of women and children across international borders for the purposes of sexual exploitation and to immediately adopt a comprehensive strategy to combat the trafficking of persons worldwide.
Mrs. Smith worked with federal Ministers on key legislation to further combat human trafficking and protect its victims.
Mrs. Smith has also been acknowledged for securing federal funding to fight the trafficking of Indigenous women and children from First Nations communities from across Canada.