Sonja Bata

Sonja Ingrid Bata (or Sonja Baťová; ; November 8, 1926 – February 20, 2018) was a Swiss Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, collector and museum founder, who initially trained as an architect.

Also in the 1940s, she began collecting shoes and studying their history.

She left her architecture studies after her marriage to Thomas J. Bata of Bata Shoes and moved to Toronto in 1946, befriending those in the architecture community – Raymond Moriyama designed the Bata Shoe Museum, while John Cresswell Parkin designed the impressive Don Mills headquarters of Bata Shoes and the family's country house in Batawa.

Though she had earlier envisioned herself to become a great architect, she set her designs on improving the Bata Shoe company.

Bata was also the chair of the National Design Council (1970s).

She helped establish the Toronto French School, served as director the Art Gallery of Ontario, sat on the boards of Alcan and Canada Trustco (now TD Canada Trust), affiliated with the World Wildlife Fund, and became an Honorary Captain in the RCN and sponsor of HMCS Ottawa.

In 1979, she endowed the Bata Shoe Museum Foundation.

She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1983.

The Bata Shoe Museum, established in 1995, is the world's largest shoe museum, and the core collection is attributed to Bata.

She was the museum's chairperson.

She died at her home in Toronto on 20 February 2018, outliving her husband for nine years.

She had four children.

Her father-in-law is Tomáš Baťa, the founder of Bata Shoes.