Olivia Chow

Olivia Chow (born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian politician who has been the 66th and current mayor of Toronto since 2023. Previously, Chow served as the New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Parliament (MP) for Trinity—Spadina from 2006 to 2014, and was a councillor on the Metro Toronto Council from 1992 to the 1998 amalgamation followed by Toronto City Council until 2005. Born in British Hong Kong, Chow was first elected in 1985 as a Toronto school board trustee. She 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. Her husband, Jack Layton, was also an MP, serving as leader of the Official Opposition in 2011 and leader of the NDP from 2003 until his death in 2011. Chow resigned her seat in Parliament in 2014 to run for mayor in the 2014 election, placing third to John Tory and Doug Ford. Following her 2014 campaign, she joined Toronto Metropolitan University (then known as Ryerson University) as a distinguished visiting professor. In the 2015 federal election, she unsuccessfully ran in Spadina—Fort York. Chow was elected mayor in 2023 following Tory's resignation, defeating former deputy mayor Ana Bailão and former police chief Mark Saunders. Chow is Toronto's first Chinese-Canadian mayor and the first woman to serve as mayor of Toronto since its amalgamation. During her first term, Chow implemented increases in property taxes, a TTC fare freeze, announced more protections for renters, and signed a "New Deal" with the provincial government. Chow was re-elected in 2026, defeating city councillor Brad Bradford.

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