Identity area
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Authorized form of name
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鄒至蕙
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Chow, Chi-Wai
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Olivia Chow was born in Hong Kong to mother, HO Sze (1928-2020), and father, Wilson Wai Sun CHOW (1924-2018), and raised in a Chinese Baptist household.
Chow’s parents were from modest backgrounds in China, but well-educated. Her mother obtained her teacher training certification in 1964 and worked as a schoolteacher. Her father graduated in 1947 from Sun Yat-sen University with a degree in biology. He worked as a teacher, then in education administration until his retirement from Hong Kong public service as a school superintendent in 1970. During this time, he also studied and taught singing as a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music, and sang and performed in a church choir.
The family immigrated to Canada in 1970 when Olivia was thirteen. They lived in the Toronto neighbourhood of St. James Town. In Canada, her father had his teaching service recognized by the Ontario Department of Education for a time, but he worked odd jobs. Her mother’s income as a seamstress and maid supported the family.
Chow attended Jarvis Collegiate Institute, and studied fine arts, philosophy and religion at university, graduating from the University of Guelph in 1979. She worked as an artist and sculptor, and taught community development at George Brown College.
Chow’s career in politics began in 1985 when she was elected as a trustee to the Toronto Board of Education. She became the first Asian-born woman elected as a Metro Toronto councillor in 1991, serving through to 2005. She was re-elected several times to city council by wide margins, advocating for the homeless, public transit, and other issues affecting Canada’s largest urban centre and its diverse communities. Chow was further elected to the House of Commons in the 2006 federal election, serving as the New Democrat Party (NDP) Member of Parliament for Trinity-Spadina. She resigned her seat in 2014 to run for Mayor of Toronto, placing third. In 2023, Chow was elected Mayor of Toronto, becoming the first Chinese Canadian and racialized individual to win the office.
Chow married Jack Layton in 1988. The couple forged a remarkable political partnership that lasted until his death in 2011.
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Created by Alston So, March 2026.
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Sources
Olivia Chow Fonds (CCA018), Chinese Canadian Archive, Toronto Public Library, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.