Olivia Chow (; born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian retired politician who was a federal
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
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(NDP)
member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) representing
Trinity—Spadina
Trinity—Spadina was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015.
It generally encompassed the western portion of Downtown Toronto.
Its federal Member of Parliam ...
from 2006 to 2014. Chow ran in the
2014 Toronto mayoral election, placing third behind winner
John Tory
John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014.
After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 2003 ...
and runner-up
Doug Ford
Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...
, and served on the
Metro Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...
Council from 1991 to the
1998 amalgamation and subsequently on
Toronto City Council
Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022.
Structure
The cur ...
until 2005, when she ran for MP.
Chow is the
widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died.
Terminology
The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...
of former
Official Opposition and NDP leader
Jack Layton
John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...
. They were married from 1988 until
his death from cancer in 2011.
Chow was elected to represent Trinity—Spadina in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
on January 23, 2006, as a member of the NDP. In 2011, she was re-elected in her riding for her third straight win.
Chow resigned her seat in Parliament on March 12, 2014, to run for
mayor of Toronto
The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...
.
Following her mayoral election loss, Chow became a distinguished visiting professor at
Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) from 2015 to 2018. In the
2015 Canadian federal election, she unsuccessfully ran for MP for
Spadina—Fort York
Spadina—Fort York is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Spadina—Fort York was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came into ...
, losing the seat to the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
candidate,
Adam Vaughan
Adam G. Vaughan (born July 3, 1961) is a Canadian politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2014 until 2021. Vaughan represented the Toronto area riding of Spadina—Fort York as a member of the Liberal Party. He previously sat ...
.
Chow speaks
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
,
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
and English. In May 2012, Chow was one of the recipients of the
Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards
The Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards is an annual campaign by ''Canadian Immigrant'' magazine that recognizes outstanding work by immigrants who "have come to Canada and have made a positive difference living in the country."
Overview
First ...
presented by ''
Canadian Immigrant
''Canadian Immigrant'' is a free monthly magazine and daily website for recent arrivals to Canada. The properties are owned by Torstar, and are currently published by Metroland Media Group, with print distribution throughout British Columbia, Alber ...
'' magazine.
Chow's personal memoir, titled ''My Journey'', was published January 21, 2014.
Personal life
![Layton and Chow on their way to vote](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Layton_and_Chow_on_their_way_to_vote.jpg)
Chow was born in
British Hong Kong
Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...
, to Ho Sze, a schoolteacher, and Wilson Wai Sun Chow, a school superintendent.
She was raised in a middle-class family in
Happy Valley, a residential area in Hong Kong.
She immigrated to Canada with her family in 1970 at the age of 13 and lived in a high-rise unit in
St. James Town, a neighbourhood in Toronto.
Her father worked odd jobs, such as delivering Chinese food and driving taxis to support the family. Her mother became a seamstress and a maid, and worked in a hotel laundry.
Her father was physically abusive towards her half-brother, Andre, and her mother, but nurturing and loving towards Olivia.
Chow was raised in a Chinese
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
household. As a young girl she was a slow learner and had to repeat grade 3. However, she soon started to excel and she later skipped grade 8.
She attended
Jarvis Collegiate Institute
Jarvis Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named after Jarvis Street where it is located. It is a part of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Prior to 1998, it was within the Toronto Board of Educati ...
and studied fine arts at the
Ontario College of Art
Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within d ...
, and philosophy and religion at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. In 1979, she graduated with an honours bachelor of arts in fine art from the
University of Guelph
, mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities"
, established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922)
, type = Public university
, chancellor ...
.
After graduation, she worked as an artist. She owned a sculpture studio and created art pieces for clients. She still paints occasionally.
She later taught at
George Brown College
George Brown College is a public, fully accredited college of applied arts and technology with three campuses in downtown Toronto (Ontario, Canada). Like many other colleges in Ontario, GBC was chartered in 1966 by the government of Ontario and ...
's Assaulted Women and Children Counselling and Advocacy Program for five years.
In 2005, she revealed that she had undergone surgery for
thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...
in 2004. She decided to speak out to raise awareness of the disease. In 2013, she was diagnosed with
Ramsay Hunt syndrome type II
Inflammation of the geniculate ganglion of the facial nerve is a late consequence of '' varicella zoster'' virus (VZV) known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome (RHS), commonly known as herpes zoster oticus. In regards with the frequency, less than 1% of var ...
.
She married
Jack Layton
John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...
in 1988 and they stayed together until his death in August 2011. On August 20, 2012, she unveiled a statue dedicated to Layton; tributes to him were written in English, Chinese and French. The statue is located in
Harbour Square Park
Harbour Square Park is a park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada right on the Toronto harbour. It is next to the Harbour Square condos, the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and the Westin Harbour Castle. It is south of Queens Quay and adjacent to the Queens ...
at the
Jack Layton Ferry Terminal
The Jack Layton Ferry Terminal (formerly called the Toronto Island Ferry Docks) is the ferry slip for Toronto Island ferries operated by the City of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division. Three ferry routes provide transportation betwee ...
. Chow is portrayed by
Sook-Yin Lee
Sook-Yin Lee is a Canadian broadcaster, musician, film director, and actress. She is a former MuchMusic VJ and a former radio host on CBC Radio. She has appeared in films, notably in the John Cameron Mitchell movie '' Shortbus''.
Early and p ...
in the 2013
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
film ''
Jack
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
''. Lee won a
Canadian Screen Award
The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series ...
for her performance.
Municipal politics
Chow first became active in politics working with local NDP MP
Dan Heap. With his support, she ran for
school board
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
trustee, and won in 1985. Popular on the school board, she was elected to Metropolitan Toronto Council in the
1991 election for the Metro Toronto ward of Downtown (this ward was abolished in the 1997 amalgamation). The area has long been home to a diverse group of communities in the core of Canada's largest urban centre. Chow was re-elected several times to city council by wide margins.
As councillor, Chow was an advocate for the
homeless,
public transit
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...
, and many other urban issues that promote
sustainable development
Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...
. She was also a vociferous opponent of the proposed
Toronto Island Airport
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a regional airport located on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is often referred to as Toronto Island Airport and was previously known as ''Port George VI Island Airport'' and ''Toronto ...
expansion, a controversial plan by the
Toronto Port Authority
The Toronto Port Authority (TPA), doing business as PortsToronto (PT), is a port authority that is responsible for the management of the Port of Toronto, including the International Marine Passenger Terminal, and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport ...
.
Following the
amalgamation
Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form.
Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal
**Pan am ...
of
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...
, she and her husband
Jack Layton
John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...
were prominent members of the city council. While sometimes critical of pro-development Mayor
Mel Lastman
Melvin Douglas Lastman (March 9, 1933 – December 11, 2021) was a Canadian businessman and politician who served as the third mayor of North York from 1973 to 1997 and 62nd mayor of Toronto from 1998 to 2003. He was the first person to serve ...
and other suburban councillors, they worked with councillors across political lines to achieve practical progressive measures. Layton left his seat on council to become federal leader of the NDP. Both were supporters of
David Miller's successful
2003 campaign to become
mayor of Toronto
The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...
.
Chow was forced to resign her position on the
Toronto Police Services Board
The Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) is the civilian police board that governs the Toronto Police Service (TPS). The board is responsible for approving the annual police budget, defining objectives and policies for TPS, and hiring Toronto's p ...
because, at a riot in front of the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario, she informally attempted to persuade police to change their tactics. Some argued, however, that she was ousted for her outspoken attitude towards alleged police misconduct.
Chow was renowned for her trademark bicycle, decorated with flowers and bright colours, which she rode every day to
Toronto City Hall
The Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, is the seat of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Viljo Revell and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened i ...
.
Chow was voted "Best City Councillor" on numerous occasions by Toronto's alternative weeklies ''
Now Magazine'' and ''
Eye Weekly''. In May 2012, Chow was named one of the top 25 Canadian immigrants in Canada by the ''
Canadian Immigrant
''Canadian Immigrant'' is a free monthly magazine and daily website for recent arrivals to Canada. The properties are owned by Torstar, and are currently published by Metroland Media Group, with print distribution throughout British Columbia, Alber ...
'' magazine.
Federal politics
In 1997, Chow ran as an NDP candidate for the House of Commons in
Trinity—Spadina
Trinity—Spadina was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015.
It generally encompassed the western portion of Downtown Toronto.
Its federal Member of Parliam ...
. Chow was defeated by Liberal incumbent
Tony Ianno
Anthony "Tony" Ianno (born 1957) is a businessman and a former Canadian politician. He served as a Liberal Party of Canada MP representing Trinity—Spadina (1993–2006) and Minister of Families and Caregivers (2004–06).
Personal life
Bor ...
.
In 2004, Chow again won the Trinity—Spadina NDP nomination for the
summer federal election, giving her another chance to unseat Tony Ianno of the Liberal Party. With support from Jack Layton, a new urban focus of the NDP, and higher party popularity nationwide, she was widely expected to win despite some criticism from voters who elected her to a municipal seat just six months prior. She managed another strong second place showing, but failed to unseat Ianno by only 2% of the total vote.
Tactical voting
Strategic voting, also called tactical voting, sophisticated voting or insincere voting, occurs in voting systems when a voter votes for another candidate or party than their ''sincere preference'' to prevent an undesirable outcome. For example, ...
was blamed partially for Chow's defeat, as the Liberal attack ads on
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
attempted to make the election a choice between the Liberals and Conservatives, with the effect of attracting NDP leaning voters to support the Liberals and stave off a potential Harper government. Chow also did not resign her council seat to run federally, with some suggesting that her constituents were able to vote Liberal and while still having Chow around to represent them.
When the Liberal federal government was defeated on a motion of non-confidence, Chow resigned her city council seat of fourteen years on November 28, 2005, to make a third run at seat in the House of Commons. She was succeeded on city council on an interim basis by
Martin Silva. As Silva was not allowed to run for re-election, Chow's constituency assistant
Helen Kennedy ran but lost to
Adam Vaughan
Adam G. Vaughan (born July 3, 1961) is a Canadian politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2014 until 2021. Vaughan represented the Toronto area riding of Spadina—Fort York as a member of the Liberal Party. He previously sat ...
.
During the 2006 campaign, Mike Klander, an executive of the federal Liberal party's Ontario wing, made comments in his blog insinuating that Chow was a
Chow Chow
The Chow Chow is a spitz-type of dog breed originally from northern China. The Chow Chow is a sturdily built dog, square in profile, with a broad skull and small, triangular, erect ears with rounded tips. The breed is known for a very dense ...
dog and said of her husband, "I just want to say that I think Jack Layton is an asshole". Layton denounced the comments about Chow as racist, and Klander apologized and resigned.
On January 23, 2006, she won the Trinity—Spadina seat for the NDP in the
federal election. She defeated Ianno by 3,667 votes, almost 6%. Along with Jack Layton she was part of only the second husband-and-wife team in Canadian parliamentary history. (
Gurmant Grewal
Gurmant Singh Grewal (born December 21, 1957) is an Indo-Canadian politician and former Conservative Member of Parliament. Gurmant and his wife, Nina Grewal, who represented Fleetwood—Port Kells from 2004 to 2015, were the first married co ...
and
Nina Grewal
Nina Grewal (born 20 October 1958), is a Canadian politician of the Conservative Party of Canada, Conservative Party. She represented the constituency of Fleetwood—Port Kells, British Columbia from her election in the 2004 Canadian federal el ...
were the first, winning their seats in the
2004 election.)
In 2007, Chow sponsored a motion calling for Japan to apologize for forcing some 200,000 women to serve as
wartime sex slaves. The motion was passed unanimously by Canada's parliament in November 2007. Chow stated, "for me, this isn't crimes against 200,000 women. It's crimes against humanity and all of the world's citizens have a responsibility to speak out against it."
On June 3, 2008, Chow, "who
riginallybrought in the motion", voted to implement a program which would "allow
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
s... to a war not sanctioned by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
... to... remain in Canada". The motion gained international attention from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and the New Zealand press.
passed 137 to 110 ... But the motion is non-binding and the victory was bittersweet as the government (
) is likely to ignore it." This same motion, again re-introduced by Olivia Chow in the
, was again passed on March 30, 2009, with a vote of 129–125. Chow has been instrumental in debates and actions surrounding
, Chow was re-elected handily in her riding of Trinity—Spadina with a margin of more than 20,000 votes over her nearest rival. She was named critic for transport, infrastructure and communities in the
. She also became the first spouse of a leader of the Opposition to also be an MP.
However, her time in
just three months after assuming office. Chow was in the spotlight as Layton's widow during the mourning period and state funeral, winning respect for her care for her husband in his last days and for her dignity and poise in grief, and her and Layton's partnership in both life and politics was eulogized. Subsequently, she ruled out a bid for the
and pledged neutrality in the leadership race.
On March 12, 2014, Chow resigned her seat and registered to run in the 2014 mayoral race in Toronto.