Matt Canavan

Matthew James Canavan (born 17 December 1980) is an Australian politician who has served as the leader of the National Party of Australia since 2026. He has been a senator for Queensland since 2014, and served as a minister in the Turnbull and Morrison governments from 2016 to 2020. Born in Southport, Queensland, Canavan graduated from the University of Queensland with bachelor's degrees in arts and economics. He then worked as a senior economist for the Productivity Commission and KPMG and as a director of the Productivity Commission. Canavan was chief-of-staff to Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce from 2010 to 2013. He was first elected to the Senate at the 2013 federal election, running on the Liberal National Party ticket in Queensland. Canavan was appointed minister for Northern Australia in February 2016 and was elevated to cabinet after the 2016 election with the additional role of minister for resources. In July 2017, amid a wider parliamentary eligibility crisis, he resigned from cabinet after he might hold Italian citizenship by descent in violation of section 44 of the constitution. He was reappointed to cabinet in October 2017 after the High Court ruled that he was not an Italian citizen. In February 2020, Canavan resigned again from cabinet to support Joyce in his unsuccessful bid for National Party leadership. After the 2025 election, he unsuccessfully challenged David Littleproud in a leadership spill. He was elected party leader in March 2026 following Littleproud's resignation as leader.