Olivia Chow

Chow was born in British Hong Kong, to Ho Sze, a schoolteacher, and Wilson Wai Sun Chow, a school superintendent.^[5] She was raised in a middle-class family in Happy Valley, a residential area in Hong Kong.^[6] She emigrated to Canada with her family in 1970 at the age of 13, settling in Toronto, where they first lived on the third floor of a rooming house in the Annex, before moving to a high-rise unit in St. James Town.^[7][8] 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.^[9] Her father suffered from mental illness and was physically abusive towards her half-brother, Andre, and her mother, but "nurturing and loving" towards Olivia.^[10][7]

Chow was raised in a Chinese Baptist household.^[11] As a young girl she was a slow learner and had to repeat grade 3. However, she soon started to excel academically and she later skipped grade 8.^[12] She attended Jarvis Collegiate Institute and studied fine arts at the Ontario College of Art, and philosophy and religion at the University of Toronto. In 1979, she graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in fine art from the University of Guelph.^[10]

After graduation, she worked as an artist. She owned a sculpture studio and created art pieces for clients. She still paints occasionally.^[12][13] She later taught at George Brown College's Assaulted Women and Children Counselling and Advocacy Program for five years.

Chow first became active in politics working in the riding office of local NDP MP Dan Heap in the early 1980s.^[14]

With Heap's support, Chow ran for school board trustee, and won in November 1985.^[15][16] Beginning in 1986, Chow sought for programming to protect students on the basis of sexuality, spurred by incidents of harassment she was shown, and by the murder of Kenneth Zeller, a school librarian. This led to the introduction of what was believed to be Ontario's first sexuality school program, approved in May 1988 with support of director of education Ned McKeown.^{[17][18][19][20]} She served as head of the school board's race relations committee.^[21][22]

Popular on the school board, she was handily elected to Metropolitan Toronto Council in the 1991 election for the Metro Toronto ward of Downtown (this ward was abolished in the 1997 amalgamation).^[23] The area had 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, and many other urban issues that promote sustainable development. She was also a vociferous opponent of the proposed Toronto Island Airport expansion, a controversial plan by the Toronto Port Authority.

Following the amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto, she and her husband Jack Layton were prominent members of the city council. While sometimes critical of pro-development Mayor Mel Lastman 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.

Chow was forced to resign her position on the Toronto Police Services Board 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, a cycling advocate, was renowned for her trademark bicycle, decorated with flowers and bright colours, which she rode every day to Toronto City Hall.^[24]

In 1997, Chow ran as an NDP candidate for the House of Commons in Trinity—Spadina. Liberal incumbent Tony Ianno won by 1,802 votes, receiving 45% of the total votes.

In 2004, Chow again received the Trinity—Spadina NDP nomination for the summer federal election. 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 805 votes, 1.5% of the total.

Tactical voting was blamed partially for Chow's defeat, as Liberal attack ads on Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper 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 felt comfortable voting Liberal while still having Chow around to represent them at a different level of government.^{[citation needed]}

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.

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 to serve jointly. (Gurmant Grewal and Nina Grewal 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 said, "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."^[25]

On June 3, 2008, Chow, "who [originally] brought in the motion",^{[attribution needed]} voted to implement a program which would "allow conscientious objectors ... to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations ... to ... remain in Canada". The motion gained international attention from The New York Times,^[26] the BBC^[27] and the New Zealand press.^[28] The Toronto Star reported: "[It] passed 137 to 110 ... But the motion is non-binding and the victory was bittersweet as the government (Conservative Party of Canada) is likely to ignore it."^[29][30][31] After Prime Minister Stephen Harper sought and received permission to seek a new mandate in 2008, Chow would reintroduce the same motion in the 40th Canadian Parliament. The House passed it on March 30, 2009, with a vote of 129–125.^[32][33] Chow was instrumental in debates and actions surrounding Canada and Iraq War resisters.

In the 2011 Canadian federal election, which saw the NDP's historic rise to Official Opposition, Chow was re-elected handily in 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 Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. She also became the first spouse of a leader of the Opposition to be an MP as well.

However, her time in Stornoway was to be short, as Jack Layton died of cancer 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,^[34] and her personal and political partnerships with Layton were eulogized.^[35] She ruled out a bid for the leadership of the NDP^[36] and pledged to remain neutral in the leadership race.^[37]

On March 12, 2014, Chow resigned her seat and registered to run in the 2014 mayoral race in Toronto.^[8][38]

Chow announced on July 28, 2015, that she was seeking the federal NDP nomination in Spadina—Fort York for the 2015 federal election. The new riding comprises much of the former Trinity—Spadina riding. She faced Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, who was elected MP for Trinity—Spadina in 2014 in a by-election that was held following Chow's resignation to run for mayor.^[39][40] Chow lost to Vaughan by a wide margin amid a Liberal sweep of Toronto ridings.^[41]

Chow entered the 2014 Toronto mayoral campaign in an attempt to unseat incumbent Rob Ford after most polls taken over the previous year suggested she was best placed to win either a head-to-head vote against Ford or a multi-candidate contest. Ford's mayoralty had been at the centre of several controversies during his tenure, most significantly over accusations and ultimately Ford's own admission that he had used crack cocaine as well as allegations that he has associated with criminals. Chow was the only prominent centre-left candidate running against Ford. Her other major rivals in the election, former provincial Opposition leader John Tory, councillor Karen Stintz and former budget chief David Soknacki as well as Ford himself, were all centre-right candidates.^[38]

Chow's campaign manager was John Laschinger, who previously managed David Miller's mayoral campaigns as well as federal and provincial Conservative campaigns. Former federal and provincial Liberal strategist Warren Kinsella also worked on her campaign. Other senior staff included former MuchMusic VJ Jennifer Hollett,^[42] former NDP national director Nathan Rotman,^[43] and Brian Topp,^[44] a former NDP leadership candidate. Supporters included former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister George Smitherman (who was the runner-up to Ford in the 2010 mayoral election) and filmmaker Deepa Mehta.^[38]

Chow's three priority areas were transit, children and jobs.^[45] She came out against subway expansion in favour of more buses, and building LRTs lines on Toronto's roads.^[46] She also released policies about expanding after-school recreation programs for children aged 6–11,^[47] as well as creating 5,000 jobs and training opportunities for young people through community benefits agreements.^[48]

Over the course of the election, Chow went from the polling favourite at the beginning of the campaign to eventually placing third in the election. Polls suggested she failed to capitalize on her early popularity and fell victim to strategic voting.^[49]

On April 17, 2023, Chow announced her campaign for mayor of Toronto in the 2023 by-election.^[50]

The provincial government's controversial plan to redevelop Ontario Place into a spa and waterpark, as well as to move the Ontario Science Centre from its original site was criticized by Chow, who proposed stalling the province's plans by withholding a portion of city-owned land on the site.^[51]

Chow's housing policies include building 25,000 rent-controlled homes on city-owned land, with the city acting as a developer. She proposed increasing the vacant property tax to 3 per cent, directing funds to support affordable housing initiatives such as rent supplements, as well as increasing the land transfer tax on luxury homes, using funds to support people who are homeless. Chow also committed to opening 24/7 respite spaces and creating 1000 rent supplements. Her housing platform also includes policies aimed at supporting tenants, including combatting renovictions, doubling Toronto's rent bank, establishing a $100 million fund to purchase rental properties from private landlords and transferring them to not-for-profits, and expanding RentSafeTO, the city's building standards enforcement program.^[52][53][54]

On transit, Chow proposed converting the Line 3 Scarborough corridor into a busway, once it has been decommissioned, estimated to cost $60 million with funding coming from savings realized by cancelling the Gardiner Expressway rebuild east of Cherry Street. She would reverse cuts made to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in the 2023 budget and expand cell phone service on the subway system to all networks.^[54][53]

Chow promised to create a team to reduce 9-1-1 wait times and expand the Toronto Community Crisis Service city-wide.^[55] She supports the plan endorsed by Toronto Public Health, CAMH and Toronto police chief Myron Demkiw to request a personal drug possession exemption from the federal government.^[56]

On June 26, 2023, Chow was elected as mayor of Toronto.^[57][58] In an election with 102 candidates, Chow won with 37.2% of the vote defeating Ana Bailão who placed second with 32.5%.^[59]

Following a transition period of two weeks, Chow was sworn in as the 66th mayor of Toronto on July 12, 2023.^[60]

As mayor, Chow can appoint or dismiss the deputy mayor, city department heads, the chairs and vice-chairs of council committees, as well as form the striking committee, which determines the composition of other council committees.^[61]

Just over a month into her term on August 10, 2023, Chow made a number of changes to key mayoral appointments. Ausma Malik was named the new deputy mayor of Toronto, taking over from Jennifer McKelvie, who would continue to hold the title in an honorary capacity along with Mike Colle and Amber Morley. Chow also appointed Shelly Carroll to chair the budget committee, Gord Perks as chair of planning and housing, Jaamal Myers as chair of the TTC, and Alejandra Bravo as chair of the economic and community development committee.^[62] The Local notes that the councillors in lead roles come from progressive backgrounds, and the many progressives and centrist councillors appointed to committees have resulted in a wider political range than under the previous administration. Overall, the committee structure experienced a "leftward" shift.^[63]

During the 2023 by-election, the city's budget shortfall was a major topic of discussion as Toronto's 2023 operating budget faced a shortfall of $1.5 billion.^[64] Absent financial assistance from other levels of government, the city would be forced use its reserve fund in order to avoid running a deficit.^[65] Due to a decline in revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Toronto relied on transfer payments from other levels of government to sustain its operating budget.^[66] In her first speech as mayor, Chow called on the provincial and federal governments to commit to a "new deal" for funding the city, criticizing them for withholding a bailout as the city continued to struggle from the financial impact of COVID-19.^[67]

Following her first official meeting with Premier Doug Ford on September 18, 2023, Chow and Ford announced that the city and province would form a working group of senior officials to discuss long-term sustainability and stability in Toronto's finances.^[68][69] Chow noted that the city was carrying $1.1 billion in services on behalf of the provincial and federal governments, while Ford committed to avoiding new taxes.^[70] On October 30, ahead of their second meeting, Chow and Ford wrote a joint letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on the federal government to join the working group.^[71] The following day, Chow confirmed that the federal government would participate in the working group.^[72]

On November 27, 2023, Chow and Ford held a joint press conference where they announced that the city and province had come to an agreement regarding a "new deal". In the deal, the province would take over responsibility for the F.G. Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway, as well as a $300 million dollar transfer for transit operations and safety. Contingent on federal funding, Ford also committed $758 million to procure new subway trains for Line 2 Bloor–Danforth and $600 million across three years to address homelessness. The province would also provide up $342 million over 2024, 2025 and 2026, conditional on Toronto exceeding its annual housing targets by 125 per cent each year.^[73][74] In total, the deal includes $1.2 billion over three years in operating funding and $7.6 billion in capital relief.^[75] As part of the agreement, the City of Toronto also conceded that it does not have the ability to stop the province's controversial plans to redevelop Ontario Place into a private spa and water park, breaking a promise Chow made during her campaign.^[76][77]

On January 10, 2024, following a series of pre-budget consultations, city staff presented the Budget Committee with their proposed budget. The initial staff budget proposed a 10.5 per cent property tax increase, contingent on the federal government providing $250 million to house refugee claimants. Without federal funding, the increase could rise to 16.5 per cent.^[78] The city later decreased the proposed property tax increase to 9.5 per cent.^[79] Either tax increase would be the largest since the 1998 amalgamation of Toronto.^[80]

Following her 2023 election, Chow indicated her support for the city's plan to rename Dundas Street and related civic assets.^[81] In 2020, a petition which received over 14,000 signatures calling for the renaming of the street and related civic assets prompted then-Mayor John Tory to direct city staff to begin a review of the renaming, which was subsequently adopted by city council in 2021 at a cost of $6 million.^[82] By 2023, the projected cost had risen to $13 million.^[83] Henry Dundas was a Scottish politician who is controversially known for his role in delaying the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.^[84] In December 2023, Chow supported a motion introduced by Councillor Chris Moise, which would adopt the recommendation of an advisory committee to rename Yonge–Dundas Square to Sankofa Square, a Ghanan word describing the concept of reflecting on teachings from the past.^[83] Council also voted to rename Dundas Station after the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), Dundas West Station and the Jane/Dundas Library.^[83][85] The plan would see the cost of renaming the square funded by developers through community benefit charges and the cost of renaming Dundas Station funded by TMU. The renaming of the street was deferred indefinitely due to budget pressures.^[83][85]

The name "Sankofa Square" was met unfavourably by the majority of Torontonians; a poll conducted in January 2024 found that 71 percent of respondents disapproved of the new name.^[86] Right-leaning Toronto Sun commentator Brian Lilley praised the cost savings of Chow's decision to cancel the renaming of the street, describing it as a "compromising between what she wanted and what was possible".^[87]

Chow supported a motion introduced by Councillor Paul Ainslie in December 2023 to rename Centennial Park Stadium in Etobicoke after former mayor Rob Ford, who died in 2016.^[88] The motion faced opposition owing from Ford's controversial tenure as mayor, however, Chow defended her support, stating that she understood "the pain of losing a loved one" and "what that meant for the Ford family".^[89] The stadium was officially renamed Rob Ford Stadium on May 28, 2024. Chow attended the renaming ceremony along with former mayor Ford's family including his brother, Premier Ford.^[90]

Following her loss in the 2014 municipal election, Chow was appointed to a three-year term, beginning March 1, 2015,^[91] as distinguished visiting professor in the Faculty of Arts in Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), with a focus on community engagement and democratic participation.^[39][92] On July 28, 2015, then-Ryerson University released a statement that it had agreed to grant Chow's request for a leave of absence from the university so that she could run for MP.^[93]

Chow's personal memoir, titled My Journey, was published January 21, 2014.^[94]

In 2016, Chow founded the Institute for Change Leaders, an organization affiliated with Toronto Metropolitan University which teaches political campaign and organizing skills.^[95]

Chow was married to Jack Layton from 1988 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 at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal.

Chow is a stepmother to Layton's son Mike Layton, a former Toronto city councillor, from his previous marriage to Sally Halford.

In 2005, she revealed that she had undergone surgery for thyroid cancer in 2004. She decided to speak out to raise awareness of the disease.^[96] In 2013, she was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome type II.^[97]

Chow speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English.^[98]

She was portrayed by Sook-Yin Lee in the 2013 CBC Television film Jack. Lee won a Canadian Screen Award for her performance.^[99]

Chow is a Star Trek fan.^{[100][101][102]}

In May 2012, Chow was named one of the top 25 Canadian immigrants in Canada by the Canadian Immigrant magazine.^[103]

Chow was voted "Best City Councillor" on numerous occasions by Toronto's alternative weeklies Now Magazine^[104][105] and Eye Weekly.

• Layton family

• Chow, Olivia (2014). My Journey. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. ISBN 978-1443428293.

• Olivia Chow instagram
• Official website
• Olivia Chow – Parliament of Canada biography
• City of Toronto: About Mayor Olivia Chow
• Olivia Chow on Twitter  
• imwitholivia.ca Web Archive - 2014 Toronto Mayoral Collection - created by the University of Toronto Libraries
• oliviachow.ca Web Archive - 2014 Toronto Mayoral Collection - created by the University of Toronto Libraries
• stopchownow.ca Web Archive - 2014 Toronto Mayoral Collection - created by the University of Toronto Libraries
• Olivia Chow at IMDb