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Olivia Chow, M.P.

Meet Olivia

Olivia Chow’s quest for a better society has been a lifelong journey – a journey that has taken her from her childhood in Hong Kong around the world to Toronto and to one of the most extraordinary careers in Canadian political life. First as a City Councillor, then as a Member of Parliament, Olivia has been a tireless activist for Trinity-Spadina constituents.

Olivia’s commitment to social justice stretches back to her youth when, as a 13-year-old immigrant teenager she learned to speak and read English, learned to skate at Nathan Philips Square and started attending Jarvis Collegiate. Thus began her new life and her subsequent mission to break down barriers to women and minorities.

Chow gained a taste for political life in 1981 while working as a constituency assistant in the office of Dan Heap, New Democrat MP for Trinity-Spadina. Along the way, Olivia has taught English as a second language to immigrants, as well as Cantonese to children of immigrants. For five years, she lectured on race, class and gender, community development and political action at George Brown College for its Counselling and Advocacy for Assaulted Women and Children program.

First elected as a school trustee in 1985, Olivia won election as a Metro Councillor in 1991 – breaking new ground as the first Asian woman elected at the municipal level in Toronto. After Toronto’s amalgamation in 1997, she was elected then re-elected three times as City Councillor for the ward of Trinity-Spadina in downtown Toronto.

While at City Hall, Olivia served as the Chair of the Community Services Committee and the Vice Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), among other senior responsibilities. Olivia gained national recognition for her innovative approaches to programs for children and youth as Toronto’s first advocate for children and youth. In this capacity, she led the fight for a better life for children and achieved outstanding results. Her child nutrition programs now feed nearly 100,000 children and her award-winning approach to delivering Early Learning and Child Care (First Duty), now uses local schools as hubs for all child-related services. Olivia also worked to empower and engage youth by creating the Toronto Youth Cabinet and securing funding for initiatives specifically geared to youth. As well, she fought for free dental care for poor children and expanded pre- and post-natal services.

Olivia is rightly proud of having achieved this legacy of improved services and effective new social programs within a context of fiscal responsibility: she helped put through nine consecutive balanced budgets as a member of the City’s budget committee from 1994 to 2003.

As a School Trustee at the Toronto District Board of Education, Chow chaired the Personnel (human resources) Committee and championed the right of every child, regardless of background to achieve academic excellence. She piloted groundbreaking anti-homophobia and anti-racist trainings in schools in the mid-eighties and assisted in the establishment of model schools such as Rosedale Heights Secondary School.

Olivia was first elected as a Member of Parliament in January of 2006 and was re-elected in October of 2008. As the Advocate for Child Care, Citizenship and Immigration Critic in the NDP Shadow Cabinet, Olivia boasts a legacy of achievement after decades of public service in Toronto. She worked to create a more liveable and dynamic city through her leadership and dedication to improve economic opportunity, eradicate child poverty, enhance the environment and the waterfront, and strengthen social services, immigrant services, child care, affordable housing and affordable public transit. She also was an advocate for the arts, culture and rich diversity that today, set Toronto apart.

Olivia has continued her passion for children in Parliament. Her Early Learning and Child Care Bill laid the legislative foundation for a universal, high-quality, affordable and non-profit national child care program. It received support from Parliament twice and came close to becoming law.

As a Member of Parliament and the New Democratic Party’s current immigration critic, Olivia has successfully sponsored significant immigration motions to permit Iraq war resisters stay in Canada, stop the deportation of long-term undocumented workers, and to allow all spouses being sponsored, to actually live with their families in Canada. She has been relentless in her push for expediting family reunification, halting the exploitation of temporary workers and demanding that foreign credentials be recognized.

Political leadership and activism are just one dimension of Olivia Chow. She is a passionate gardener, artist, reader, outdoor enthusiast, a swimmer and cyclist. After learning English as a teenager, she studied fine arts at the Ontario College of Art and Philosophy and Religion at the University of Toronto while working as a volunteer counsellor in crisis intervention at the emergency ward of Toronto General Hospital – an indication of the kind of multi-tasking that has made her such an effective leader. Olivia earned an Honours BA in fine art from the University of Guelph in 1979, and supported her career as a sculptor by working for a number of social service agencies.

Olivia Chow has had the rare distinction of being voted best City Councillor seven times by the readers of NOW magazine and best local politician four times by readers of Eye magazine. She has also been the recipient of numerous recognitions including “Woman of the Year” from Consumers Choice of Canada and was awarded an honourary degree from the Ontario College of Art and Design.

Olivia is well-known in the non-governmental organization universe as a tireless fundraiser and auctioneer for charities. As well, following a successful personal battle with thyroid cancer early in 2005, Olivia has become a spokesperson for cancer awareness and health-related issues, with an emphasis on women’s health.

Early in her political career, Olivia forged one of Canada’s most remarkable political partnerships when she met Jack Layton. Jack who was then City Councillor is now the leader of Canada’s New Democrats and MP for Toronto-Danforth. They married in 1988 and have worked together throughout their careers, sharing a passion for life and a commitment to change. Olivia and Jack live in Chinatown in Trinity-Spadina, with Olivia’s mother Ho Sze and their cat George in a house that they transformed with a “green” renovation. Their children Sarah and Michael Layton live nearby.

As she enters her third decade in public life, Olivia Chow is just beginning to hit her stride. The journey is ongoing – Olivia’s quest for a better society and her determination to make a difference continue.

Member of:

Vice-Chair of Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Canada-Portugal Parliamentary Friendship Group Member, Save Darfur Parliamentary Coalition Member, Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament Member, Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group Member, Canada-Hong Kong Parliamentary Friendship Group Member, Canada-China Legislative Association Member, All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide Associate, Member of Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities Committee, Status of Women Committee, Transportation Infrastructure and Communities Committee Member.

Past member of Cecil St. Community Centre, Chinese Canadian National Council, Toronto Budget Advisory Committee, Toronto Police Services Board, December 6 Fund, Urban Alliance for Race Relations, Chinese Information and Community Services, Metro Toronto Legal Aid Clinic for Chinese and South East Asians, St. Stephen’s Community Centre, University Settlement House, Kensington Youth Theatre, Employment Services, St. Stephen’s Youth Employment Services, Toronto Community Services Committee Chair, Mayor’s Children and Youth Action Committee, Chair of Toronto Cycling Committee, Co-Chair Toronto Community Housing Corporation, Board Member of Toronto Public Library, Board Member of Art Gallery of Ontario, Board Member of Harbourfront Centre, Board Member of Scadding Court Community Centre, Board Member of Association of Municipalities of Ontario.