51 Facts About Olivia Chow

Olivia Chow was born on March 24,1957 and is a Canadian politician who has served as the 66th mayor of Toronto since July 12,2023.

Olivia Chow ran in the 1991 Toronto election, where she was elected to Metropolitan Toronto Council and remained active in local Toronto politics until her election to the House of Commons in the 2006 federal election.

Olivia Chow's husband, Jack Layton, was an MP, serving as leader of the Official Opposition in 2011 and leader of the NDP from 2003 until his death in 2011.

Olivia Chow resigned her seat in Parliament in 2014 to run for mayor in the 2014 election, placing third to John Tory and Doug Ford.

Olivia Chow was elected mayor in 2023 following Tory's resignation, defeating former deputy mayor Ana Bailao and former police chief Mark Saunders.

Olivia Chow was born in British Hong Kong, to Ho Sze, a schoolteacher, and Wilson Wai Sun Olivia Chow, a school superintendent.

Olivia Chow was raised in a middle-class family in Happy Valley, a residential area in Hong Kong.

Olivia Chow immigrated 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.

Olivia Chow's father worked odd jobs, such as delivering Chinese food and driving taxis to support the family.

Olivia Chow's mother became a seamstress and a maid, and worked in a hotel laundry.

Olivia Chow's father suffered from mental illness and was physically abusive towards her half-brother, Andre, and her mother, but "nurturing and loving" towards Olivia.

Olivia Chow attended Jarvis Collegiate Institute and studied fine arts at the Ontario College of Art, and philosophy and religion at the University of Toronto.

Olivia Chow owned a sculpture studio and created art pieces for clients.

Olivia Chow later taught at George Brown College's Assaulted Women and Children Counselling and Advocacy Program for five years.

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

Olivia Chow served as head of the school board's race relations committee.

Olivia Chow was re-elected several times to city council by wide margins.

Olivia Chow was a vociferous opponent of the proposed Toronto Island Airport expansion, a controversial plan by the Toronto Port Authority.

Olivia 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.

Olivia Chow did not resign her council seat to run federally, with some suggesting that her constituents felt comfortable voting Liberal while still having Olivia Chow around to represent them at a different level of government.

Olivia Chow was succeeded on city council on an interim basis by Martin Silva.

Olivia Chow was instrumental in debates and actions surrounding Canada and Iraq War resisters.

In 2009, Olivia Chow introduced a private member's bill, the "Early Learning and Child Care Act", which aimed to establish a universal non-profit national childcare program.

Olivia Chow was named critic for transport, infrastructure and communities in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet.

Olivia Chow became the first spouse of a leader of the Opposition to be an MP as well.

Olivia 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 personal and political partnerships with Layton were eulogized.

Olivia Chow ruled out a bid for the leadership of the NDP and pledged to remain neutral in the leadership race.

On March 12,2014, Olivia Chow resigned her seat and registered to run in the 2014 mayoral race in Toronto.

Olivia Chow lost to Vaughan by a wide margin amid a Liberal sweep of Toronto ridings.

Olivia 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.

Olivia Chow was the only prominent centre-left candidate running against Ford.

Olivia Chow came out against subway expansion in favour of more buses, and building LRTs lines on Toronto's roads.

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 Olivia Chow, who proposed stalling the province's plans by withholding a portion of city-owned land on the site.

Olivia Chow 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.

On transit, Olivia 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.

On June 26,2023, Olivia Chow was elected as mayor of Toronto.

Just over a month into her term on August 10,2023, Olivia Chow made a number of changes to key mayoral appointments.

Olivia Chow 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.

Olivia 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.

In January 2025, she announced that TTC fares would be frozen for the second straight year, with Olivia Chow introducing a 5.8 per cent increase in service hours that addresses challenges such as traffic congestion.

In preperation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Olivia Chow announced that the federal government would give BMO Field $146 million to upgrade its facilities in order to host multiple matches.

In January 2025, Olivia Chow announced that the federal, provincial, and municipal governments would provide $975 million to build 14,000 new homes near the Toronto waterfront.

Olivia 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.

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

Olivia Chow was married to Jack Layton from 1988 until his death in August 2011.

Olivia Chow is stepmother to Layton's two children from his previous marriage to Sally Halford, one of whom, Mike Layton, was a Toronto city councillor from 2010 to 2022.

Olivia Chow's half-brother, Andre, lives in Seattle and is an American citizen.

Olivia Chow decided to speak out to raise awareness of the disease.

Olivia Chow was portrayed by Sook-Yin Lee in the 2013 CBC Television film Jack.

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

Olivia Chow was voted "Best City Councillor" on numerous occasions by Toronto's alternative weeklies Now Magazine and Eye Weekly.