Toronto—the largest and most populous city in Canada—has a new mayor.
Olivia Chow is the first woman and first Chinese Canadian to lead the city.
“If you ever doubted what’s possible, if you ever questioned your faith in a better future and what we can do with each other, for each other, tonight is your answer,” Chow, 66, said in her victory speech late last month.
Chow, the former sister-in-law of Seattle community leader Gei Chan, immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong with her parents at the age of 13. She started her political journey as a school board trustee in 1985. After holding the position for six years, she joined her late husband Jack Layton—who later became federal New Democratic Party leader—as a city councillor for Toronto in 1992. She was first elected to the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament in 2006.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Chow, saying he is “looking forward to working together to deliver results for Torontonians.”
Last October, Ken Sim was elected mayor of Vancouver—the first Chinese-Canadian in the post and first Asian mayor of Canada’s eighth-largest city.
Toronto mayoral candidate Olivia Chow high-fives a spectator as she walks in the Toronto Pride Parade on June 25, 2023. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)