Inducted: 2017
A successful lawyer, dedicated volunteer, and Paralympic swimmer, and a mother of four, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough is a champion in her commitment to addressing inequality and diversity.
The current Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities and Member of Parliament for Delta, B.C. has practised human rights law at the federal and provincial levels. She chaired the Minister’s Council on Employment and Accessibility in British Columbia, and was an adjudicator with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal. Qualtrough has been visually impaired since birth.
Passionate about the power of sport and physical activity to change lives, she has volunteered locally, nationally, and internationally, including with the International Paralympic Committee and for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games. She has been President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Chair of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada. Qualtrough was on the Board of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, and was Vice-Chair of the Delta Gymnastics Society. As an athlete, she won three Paralympic and four World Championship medals in swimming.
Qualtrough has degrees in political science from the University of Ottawa and law from the University of Victoria. Among many awards for her work, she has been named one of Canada’s Most Influential Women in Sport six times and received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Qualtrough was honored with International Women’s Day recognition by the International Paralympic Committee in 2016.
