Olivia Chow and John Tory
Luncheon Event with the 2014 Toronto Mayoral Candidates
Olivia Chow
Like many of us, Olivia immigrated to Canada, from Hong Kong when she was 13. She knows what it’s like to live in a home where jobs are hard to come by, and what it’s like to try and fit in. It’s a unique perspective and formed the values she’s acted on for her entire career. Olivia was elected to the school board in the 1980s and to city council in 1991, and quickly proved she could make change happen. Working with people from all walks of life, she helped introduce nutritious food to our schools and started after-school recreation programs for kids. Today, after-school recreation programs give working parents peace of mind and help our kids grow up strong.
Among her other accomplishments are helping deliver 911 emergency service in 140 languages. After the new city was created, she led the effort to expand children’s and senior’s dental programs beyond the old city of Toronto. These are still in place today, city-wide.
Her time on council, the budget committee, police board and vice-chair of the TTC provide her with unmatched experience. Olivia was elected an MP in 2006, and was a leading voice for national transit investment. She helped change the law to stop business owners being prosecuted for protecting their stores from thieves. She championed rail safety and the need to safeguard cities from dangerous goods being sent through, as well as common-sense ways to make cycling safer, such as wheel-guards on trucks.
She lives with her mother, Ho Sze, and helps care for her father, Wilson Wai Sun. At both city council and in Parliament, she served alongside her late husband, Jack Layton, and helped raise Mike and Sarah Layton. She is the grandmother of Beatrice and Solace.
Recognition for being one of our city’s most effective leaders include a Toronto Sun readers’ choice gold award for being a Top Torontonian, being named Canada’s Woman of the Year by Consumer Choice and best city councillor nine times by Now Magazine. She was also named one of Canada’s top 25 immigrants by Immigrant Canada, and is the author of My Journey, published in 2014.
John Tory
John knows how to successfully lead, manage and obtain results from large, complex organizations. This proven ability to bring people together is evident throughout his career, including as CEO of one of Canada’s largest publishing and broadcasting companies, and as Commissioner and Chairman of the Canadian Football League. His leadership has been widely credited with returning that national institution to stability.
John’s involvement in our community has come full-circle. Many know him most recently as the evening host of Live Drive with John Tory, but his first experience with City Hall all dates back to the early 1970?s when he was a member of the City Hall Press Gallery as a reporter, interviewer and newscaster for two local radio stations. He has also served in public office as a Member of Provincial Parliament, Leader of the Ontario PC Party, and Leader of the Official Opposition at Queen’s Park.
In 2012, John was appointed by the Ontario Liberal government to chair a special panel that outlined recommendations on revitalizing Ontario Place on Toronto’s waterfront. John is also a founding member and former Chair of the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance. Through CivicAction, John has brought together people from all corners of Toronto to champion solutions to the city’s most challenging issues. John was recently awarded the Order of Ontario for being a “consummate champion for the Greater Toronto Region.”
John’s passion for Toronto and his commitment to the values of tolerance and compassion are especially evident through his many years as a volunteer, fundraiser and community activist. He has been a volunteer director and has championed the causes of such organizations as the Canadian Paraplegic Association, Crimestoppers, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto Association for Community Living, the United Way, and the Women’s Legal Education & Action Fund (LEAF).
He and his wife Barb have been married since 1978. They have raised their four children, John Jr., Christopher, Susan and George, in Toronto, and are proud grandparents.
to