Joe Volpe first became the Member of Parliament for Eglinton-Lawrence in 1988 and has been re-elected six times in all subsequent elections.

In the 38th Parliament, he served as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Senior Minister Responsible for Ontario and Toronto.

Mr. Volpe also served as Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development after joining the cabinet in December 2003.

During his Parliamentary career, he has served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, as well as Chair of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources and the Standing Committee on Government Operations. He also served as a member of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology.

Mr. Volpe served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Health. Under his leadership, the committee completed a comprehensive study of natural health products in Canada and an extensive study on the state of organ transplantation in Canada. Both reports led to federal government action at Health Canada with the creation of a Natural Health Products Directorate and a National Coordinating Committee for organ and tissue donation.

Mr. Volpe is the former Co-Chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association, and the former Chair of the Canada-China Parliamentary Friendship Group. 

Mr. Volpe holds a Master of Education degree from the University of Toronto. He is married to Mirella and has four children, Luciano, Flavio, Letizia, and Massimo, and eight grandchildren.