Olivia Chow
Encyclopedia
Olivia Chow is a Canadian New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

  Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 and former city councillor
Toronto City Council
The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....

 (1991–2005) in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. She won the Trinity—Spadina
Trinity—Spadina
Trinity—Spadina is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988.It generally encompasses the western portion of Downtown Toronto. In the 2001 Canadian census, the riding had 106,094 people, of whom 74,409 were eligible to...

 riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...

 for the New Democratic Party on January 23, 2006, becoming a member of the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

. Most recently, she was re-elected in her riding for her third straight win. Chow is the widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...

 of former NDP and Opposition Leader Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...

; they were married from 1988 until his death at their home in 2011. She speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

.

Early life and municipal career

Chow was born in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 and immigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 with her family (mother Ho Sze) in 1970 at the age of 13. She attended Jarvis Collegiate Institute
Jarvis Collegiate Institute
Jarvis Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Jarvis is located on Jarvis Street. Founded in 1807 it is the second oldest high school in Ontario after the Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, and the oldest high school in Toronto.-History:Jarvis Collegiate was...

. Chow first became active in politics working with local NDP MP Dan Heap
Dan Heap
Daniel James Macdonnell "Dan" Heap is a former Canadian politician with the New Democratic Party, a political activist and an Anglican priest. He represented the Toronto, Ontario, Canada riding of Spadina, which, in 1988, was renamed Trinity—Spadina, from 1981 until 1993...

. With his support, she ran for school board trustee, and won in 1985. Popular on the school board, she was elected to Toronto city council in 1991 in Ward 20 (Ward 24 from 1997–2006) in the riding of Trinity—Spadina
Trinity—Spadina
Trinity—Spadina is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988.It generally encompasses the western portion of Downtown Toronto. In the 2001 Canadian census, the riding had 106,094 people, of whom 74,409 were eligible to...

. 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 city councillor, Chow was an advocate for the homeless
Homelessness in Canada
Homelessness in Canada has grown in size and complexity in recent years. While historically known as a crisis only of urban centres such as Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal, the increasing incidence of homelessness in the suburbs is necessitating new services and resources.The demographic...

, public transit, and many other urban issues that promote sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...

. She was also a vociferous opponent of the proposed Toronto Island Airport
Toronto City Centre Airport
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , commonly known as the Toronto Island Airport is an airport located on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named after Air Marshal Billy Bishop, a Canadian First World War flying ace...

 expansion, a controversial plan by the Toronto Port Authority
Toronto Port Authority
The Toronto Port Authority is a Canadian port authority responsible for management of the harbour of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport...

 that would increase air traffic over Ward 20.

Following the amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, she and her husband Jack Layton were prominent members of the city council. While sometimes critical of pro-development mayor Mel Lastman
Mel Lastman
Melvin Douglas "Mel" Lastman , nicknamed "Mayor Mel", is a former businessman and politician. He is the founder of the Bad Boy Furniture chain. He served as the mayor of the former city of North York, Ontario, Canada from 1972 until 1997. At the end of 1997, North York, along with five other...

 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
David Miller (Canadian politician)
David Raymond Miller is a Canadian politician. He was the 63rd Mayor of Toronto and the second since the 1998 amalgamation. He was elected to the position in 2003 for a three-year term and re-elected in 2006 for a four-year term...

's successful 2003 campaign
Toronto municipal election, 2003
The Toronto municipal election of 2003 was held on November 10, 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees.David Miller was elected mayor ....

 to become Mayor of Toronto.

Chow was forced to resign her position on the Toronto Police Services Board
Toronto Police Services Board
The Toronto Police Services Board is the civilian oversight of the Toronto Police Service. It was called the Metropolitan Toronto Police Services Board from 1990 until 1998 and the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission from 1955 until 1990 when the name of the body was changed as a result of...

 because, at a riot in front of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

, 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. She rode every day to Toronto City Hall
Toronto City Hall
The City Hall of Toronto, Ontario, Canada is the home of the city's municipal government and one of its most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell and landscape architect Richard Strong, and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in 1965...

, and carless commuting was consistent with her environmentalist
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...

 values.

Chow was voted "Best City Councillor" on numerous occasions by Toronto's alternative weeklies Now Magazine and Eye Weekly
Eye Weekly
Eye Weekly was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following week, Torstar launched a successor publication, The Grid.-...

.

Federal politics

In 1997, Chow ran as the New Democratic Party candidate for the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 in Trinity—Spadina
Trinity—Spadina
Trinity—Spadina is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988.It generally encompasses the western portion of Downtown Toronto. In the 2001 Canadian census, the riding had 106,094 people, of whom 74,409 were eligible to...

. Chow came close to defeating Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 incumbent Tony Ianno
Tony Ianno
Tony Ianno, PC is a businessman and a former Canadian politician. He served as a Liberal Party of Canada MP representing Trinity-Spadina and Minister of Families and Caregivers .-Personal life:...

.

In 2004, Chow again won the Trinity—Spadina NDP nomination for the summer federal election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...

, 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
Tactical voting
In voting systems, tactical voting occurs, in elections with more than two viable candidates, when a voter supports a candidate other than his or her sincere preference in order to prevent an undesirable outcome.It has been shown by the Gibbard-Satterthwaite theorem that any voting method which is...

 was blamed partially for Chow's defeat, as the Liberal attack ads on Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

 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 making a third run at seat in the House of Commons. She was succeeded on city council on an interim basis Martin Silva
Martin Silva
Martin Silva is a politician and radio personality in Toronto, Ontario.- Biography :Born in Sever do Vouga, Aveiro, Portugal, he emigrated to Canada in August 1968, where he gained popularity in the Portuguese community as a radio announcer on CHIN Radio...

. As Silva was not allowed to run for re-election, Chow's constituency assistant Helen Kennedy
Helen Kennedy
Helen Kennedy is a Canadian politician and social activist. She is the executive director of Egale Canada.-Background:Born in Ireland, she came to Canada in 1979 at age 21....

 ran but lost to Adam Vaughan
Adam Vaughan
Adam Vaughan is a councillor representing Ward 20 Trinity—Spadina in Toronto, Canada. For about 20 years, Vaughan worked as a political journalist and activist, most recently as the Political Specialist at Citytv/CP24. Before that, for ten years, he reported for CBLT in Toronto as a municipal...

.

During the 2006 campaign, Mike Klander, an executive of the federal Liberal party's Ontario wing, made comments in his blog that described Chow as a Chow Chow
Chow Chow
Chow chow is a breed of dog that was developed in China, where it is referred to as Songshi Quan , which literally means "puffy-lion dog".- Appearance :...

 dog and called her husband Layton an asshole. Layton denounced the comments as racist, and Klander apologized and resigned.

On January 23, 2006, she won the Trinity—Spadina seat for the NDP in the federal election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...

. She defeated Ianno by 3,667 votes, almost 6%. Along with Jack Layton she is part of only the second husband and wife team in Canadian parliamentary history. (Gurmant Grewal
Gurmant Grewal
Gurmant Singh Grewal, is a Canadian politician and former Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament. Gurmant and his wife, Nina Grewal, were the first married couple to serve in the Canadian House of Commons at the same time...

 and Nina Grewal
Nina Grewal
Narinder Kaur Grewal, MP , is a Canadian politician of the Conservative Party. She was elected in the general election of June 2004 to represent the constituency of Fleetwood—Port Kells, British Columbia....

 were the first, winning their seats in the 2004 election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...

.)

In 2007, Chow sponsored a motion calling for Japan to apologise for forcing some 200,000 women to serve as wartime sex slaves
Comfort women
The term "comfort women" was a euphemism used to describe women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with numbers ranging from as low as 20,000 from some Japanese scholars to as high as 410,000 from some Chinese...

. 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, Olivia Chow, "who [originally] brought in the motion," voted to implement a program which would "allow conscientious objectors...to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

...to...remain in Canada..." The motion gained international attention from the New York Times, Britain's BBC and the New Zealand press. The Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...

 reported: "[It] passed 137 to 110.....But the motion is non-binding and the victory was bittersweet as the government (Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

) is likely to ignore it." This same motion, again re-introduced by Olivia Chow in the 40th Parliament of Canada, was again passed on March 30, 2009, with a vote of 129 - 125. Chow has been instrumental in debates and actions surrounding Canada and Iraq War Resisters
Canada and Iraq War resisters
During the Iraq War, which began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, there were United States military personnel who refused to participate, or continue to participate, in that specific war. Their refusal meant that they faced the possibility of punishment in the United States according to Article 85...

.

In the 2011 Canadian federal election, which saw the NDP's historic rise to Official Opposition, Chow was reelected 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 Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet
Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (Canada)
The Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet of the 39th Canadian parliament is listed below. Members are drawn from the Liberal Party of Canada, and most are members of their parliamentary caucus...

. She also became the first spouse of a Leader of the Opposition to also be an MP.

However, her time in Stornoway
Stornoway (residence)
Stornoway is the name of the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition in Canada, and has been used as such since 1950. It is provided in recognition of the opposition leader's position...

 was to be short, as Jack Layton died of cancer
Death and state funeral of Jack Layton
On August 22, 2011, Canadian New Democratic Party leader and Leader of the Opposition Jack Layton died after a bout from an unspecified, newly diagnosed cancer. Prior to his recent diagnosis, Layton led his party to gain a historic rise in seats during the 2011 federal election...

 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 leadership of the NDP
New Democratic Party leadership election, 2012
An election for the leadership of the New Democratic Party , a social democratic party in Canada, will occur on March 24, 2012, as a result of the death of Jack Layton, the party's former leader. The party's executive and caucus set the rules for the campaign at a series of meetings in September 2011...

 and pledged neutrality in the leadership race.

Outside of politics

Chow was an artist before becoming a politician and still paints occasionally.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/jack-of-hearts-stakes-his-biggest-bet/article2038265/page2/ She studied fine arts at the Ontario College of Art and philosophy and religion at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. In 1979, she graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in fine art from the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...

.

Chow championed the novel Oryx and Crake
Oryx and Crake
Oryx and Crake is a novel by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood. Atwood has at times disputed the novel being science fiction, preferring to label it speculative fiction and "adventure romance" because it does not deal with 'things that have not been invented yet' and goes beyond the realism she...

by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...

 in the 2005 edition of Canada Reads
Canada Reads
Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC.-Overview:During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles. The debate is broadcast over a series...

.

In 2005, she revealed that she had undergone surgery for thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer
Thyroid neoplasm is a neoplasm or tumor of the thyroid. It can be a benign tumor such as thyroid adenoma, or it can be a malignant neoplasm , such as papillary, follicular, medullary or anaplastic thyroid cancer. Most patients are 25 to 65 years of age when first diagnosed; women are more affected...

 in 2004. She decided to speak out in order to raise awareness of the disease.

Electoral record

External links

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