Jill McKnight's political rise has been remarkably fast. Elected on April 28, 2025 as the Liberal MP for Delta, the riding immediately west of Surrey, she was appointed straight to cabinet on May 13, 2025 as Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence.
McKnight is a lifelong Delta resident with deep business roots. She owned and operated small businesses for over 20 years before serving as Executive Director of the Delta Chamber of Commerce, where she advocated for local businesses through economic challenges. She spent five years as president of the Ladner Business Association and has volunteered with the Delta Hospital and Community Health Foundation, the BC Cancer Foundation and Dress for Success.
Her community service earned her the King Charles III Coronation Medal, the Queen's Jubilee Medal and the Delta Chamber's 2019 Volunteer of the Year Award. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Business from the University of Victoria. A lifelong Delta resident, she is a proud aunt to her niece and nephew. The veterans file is personal for her: both of her grandfathers served in the Second World War, members of her husband's family also served, and immediate family members currently serve in both the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP.
First term MPs rarely land in cabinet, let alone with two portfolios. Her two decades running a small business and leading the Delta Chamber of Commerce gave her a private sector background unusual for the veterans and defence files. She succeeded Elisabeth Briere in the veterans portfolio, which covers the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board and the Veterans Ombudsman. She is also a member of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association.
In 2026 she has been the public face of the veterans portfolio, speaking on everything from Canada's NATO defence spending commitments to the services Veterans Affairs provides military families. For a minister whose riding sits next to one of the country's largest South Asian communities, the veterans file also carries a deep local history, from Sikh soldiers of the world wars to the families living in Delta and Surrey today.
This profile is part of Apna News' Candidates series, introducing the people who represent Surrey and its neighbouring communities. Apna News is Surrey's new multilingual news platform. If you spot something to correct or add, reach us at info@apnanews.ca.
Official links: Parliament profile
