Marci Ien (born July 29, 1969) is a Canadian politician serving as the minister for women and gender equality and youth since October 26, 2021. A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, Ien represents

Toronto Centre Toronto Centre (french: Toronto-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1872 to 1925, and since 1935, under the names Centre Toronto (1872–1903) ...

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. T ...

. Previously, she was a broadcast

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

for CTV. She co-hosted the CTV daytime talk show '' The Social'' from 2017 until 2020. Previously, she was a reporter for

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the national ...

and a co-anchor on the CTV morning program ''

Canada AM ''Canada AM'' was a Canadian morning television news show that aired on CTV from 1972 to 2016. Its final hosts were Beverly Thomson and Marci Ien, with Jeff Hutcheson presenting the weather forecast and sports. The program aired on weekdays, an ...

''. As a child she appeared regularly on the Christian children's show '' Circle Square''.

Background

Marci Ien is a Black Canadian of

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

descent. Her father, Joel Ien, had come to Canada in the late 1960s to attend university and went on to a career in education as a teacher, principal, and school superintendent in Toronto. Ien was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

's St. James Town neighbourhood and grew up in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, going on to attend

Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute (SLCI, Stephen Leacock, or Leacock) and John Buchan Senior Public School (JBSPS, John Buchan or Buchan) are two public middle and secondary schools in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The schools are owned and operat ...

and

Agincourt Collegiate Institute Agincourt Collegiate Institute (known locally as ACI or Agincourt), formerly known as Agincourt High School and Agincourt Continuation School is a secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in Agincourt, a neighbourhood in the ...

. Ien appeared regularly on the

Crossroads Christian Communications Crossroads Christian Communications is a Canadian non-profit charitable corporation located in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. ''100 Huntley Street'', the flagship television program of Crossroads was founded by Rev. David Mainse and is the longes ...

program '' Circle Square''.Marci Ien
. ''Who's Who in Black Canada'', January 4, 2011. Ien lives in Toronto with her two children, Blaize and Dash. Her 2020 book ''Off Script: Living Out Loud'' chronicles her life growing up in Toronto, working as a journalist, and deciding to enter politics.

Journalism

Ien graduated with a degree in radio and television arts from

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, although it also operates facilities elsewhere in Toro ...

in 1991. She began her career at

CHCH-TV CHCH-DT (channel 11) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero (company), Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Ham ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

in 1991 as a news writer and general assignment reporter. In 1995 she began reporting from Queen's Park in Toronto, with her reports appearing both on CHCH's local news and on

WIC The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is an American federal assistance program of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for healthcare and nutritio ...

's national newscast ''

Canada Tonight ''Canada Tonight'' is a Canadian television newscast which aired on stations owned by Western International Communications (WIC) from 1993 to 2001. It was produced out of the studio of CHAN-TV (BCTV) in Burnaby, British Columbia. There were two ...

''. In 1997 Ien moved to CTV as a reporter for

CTV Atlantic CTV Atlantic (formerly known as the Atlantic Television, or ATV) is a system of four television stations in the Maritimes, owned and operated by the CTV Television Network, a division of Bell Media. Despite the name, it is not available on ...

, covering major stories including the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia Peggy's Cove is a small rural community located on the eastern shore of St. Margarets Bay in the Halifax Regional Municipality, which is the site of Peggys Cove Lighthouse (established 1868). Geography Peggy's Cove is 43 kilometers (26 miles) ...

, before returning to Toronto in 1998 to anchor

CTV Newsnet CTV News Channel is a Television in Canada, Canadian Specialty channel, specialty news channel owned by Bell Media (a wholly owned subsidiary of Bell Canada). It broadcasts national and international news headlines, breaking news, and information. ...

, as CTV's all-news channel was then called,. From 2003, Ien also anchored the nationwide

morning broadcast show, which she co-hosted from 2011 until the show's cancellation in 2016. Ien returned to Atlantic Canada to participate in the Halifax leg of the

2010 Winter Olympics torch relay The 2010 Winter Olympics Torch Relay was a 106-day run, from October 30, 2009 until February 12, 2010, prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Plans for the relay were originally announced November 21, 2008 by the Vancouver Organizing Committee f ...

. Following ''Canada AM'', Ien was a guest and then permanent host of The Social (2016-2020) until her move to politics.

Awards

In 1995, Ien won a Radio Television Digital News Association Award for her news serial ''Journey to Freedom'', a look at the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. In 2008, she was the recipient of a Black Business and Professional Association Harry Jerome Award in the media category. In 2014, she was granted the Planet Africa Award for excellence in media. In 2015, Ien garnered 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 ...

nomination in the Best Host category for her work on ''Canada AM''. In 2016, she was honoured with an African Canadian Achievement Award for her journalistic achievements.

Politics

On September 17, 2020, Ien was announced as the Liberal Party of Canada's candidate in Toronto Centre for a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to fill the seat vacated by former Finance minister

Bill Morneau William Francis Morneau Jr. (born October 7, 1962) is a Canadian businessman and former Liberal Party politician who served as minister of finance and member of Parliament (MP) for Toronto Centre from 2015 to 2020. Morneau was executive chai ...

's resignation. She won the

on October 26, 2020, defeating Green Party of Canada leader

Annamie Paul Annamie Paul (born November 3, 1972) is a Canadian activist, lawyer, and former politician who served as the leader of the Green Party of Canada from 2020 to 2021. She was the first Black Canadian and first Jewish woman to be elected leader of ...

. Ien was re-elected on September 20, 2021 with increased support, and appointed to Cabinet as Minister for Women, Gender Equality and Youth on October 26, 2021.

Electoral record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ien, Marci 1969 births Living people Actresses from Toronto Black Canadian broadcasters Canadian child actresses Canadian people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Canadian television news anchors Journalists from Toronto People from Old Toronto Politicians from Toronto Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Canadian women television journalists Black Canadian women CTV Television Network people Canadian television talk show hosts Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the 29th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Black Canadian politicians Women government ministers of Canada Women members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century Canadian actresses