Jean Augustine

Jean Augustine (born September 9, 1937) is a Grenada-born Canadian politician.

She was the first Black Canadian woman to serve as a federal Minister of the Crown and Member of Parliament.

Augustine was born on September 9th, 1937, in St. George's, Grenada, but immigrated to Canada in 1960 under the West Indian Domestic Scheme.

She studied at the University of Toronto where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Education.

After university she worked as an elementary school principal with the Metropolitan Separate School Board in Toronto.

She was born in St. George’s, Grenada in 1937.

In 1960 she immigrated to Canada on the Canada-Caribbean Domestic Program.

She attended Toronto Teachers’ College before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto.

She earned her Masters in Education while working as an elementary school teacher with the Metropolitan Separate School Board in Toronto.

She was later promoted to principal, then Supervisory Officer.

She was married and had two daughters whom she continued to raise as a single mother.

Augustine served on boards such as that of York University, The Hospital for Sick Children, the Stephen Lewis Foundation and Harbourfront Corporation.

She also served as the National President of the Congress of Black Women of Canada.

She was also actively involved in Toronto's Caribbean community, sitting on the first committee to organize the Caribana Festival in 1967.

She has become engaged in numerous organizations for education and social justice, serving with the National Black Coalition of Canada, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR), the board of governors of York University, the board of trustees for The Hospital for Sick Children, the board of directors of the Donwood Institute, the board of Harbourfront, and chair of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority.

She was also named national president of the Congress of Black Women of Canada in 1987.

In 1988, she was appointed to chair the Metro Toronto Housing Authority, a multi-million dollar social housing authority serving 300,000 residents in rent-geared to income housing.

From 1993 to 2006, Jean Augustine was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada, representing the district of Etobicoke—Lakeshore in Toronto, Ontario.

In 1993, Jean Augustine made history as the first African-Canadian woman to be elected to Canada’s House of Commons as the Member of Parliament from the Greater Toronto Area constituency of Etobicoke-Lakeshore.

She served as the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women in the Cabinet of Canada from 2002 to 2004 and was the Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien from 1994 to 1996.

Before her election, she had been a school principal.

She served with distinction winning four consecutive elections until she decided to move on to new challenges in 2006.

Over this period in Parliament, her work included Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Minister of Multiculturalism and the Status of Women; Chair of the Foreign Affairs and International Trade committee; Chair of the Human Rights Committee, three-time Chair of the National Women’s Caucus; and in her last year, she was elected Deputy Speaker by her peers.

Amongst her achievements were legislation to protect disadvantaged low-income individuals including single mothers raising children; securing unanimous legislative support to pass a motion designating February as Black History Month in Canada; securing unanimous legislative support to pass a motion to erect the Famous Five Monument on Parliament Hill.

From 2007 to 2015, she served as the first Fairness Commissioner of Ontario.

Following her retirement, she has served as the patron of several non-profit organizations across Canada.

In 2007, Augustine was nominated by the Government of Ontario to become the first Fairness Commissioner, a position created to advocate for Canadians with foreign professional credentials.

In 2007, Augustine donated her personal records to the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections at York University.

"Pushing buttons, pushing stories" is a digital exhibit of Augustine's personal political buttons.

In 2008, the Jean Augustine Chair in Education was established in the Faculty of Education at York University.

Augustine serves as the patron, visitor or honorary chair of a number of organizations, including the NATO Association of Canada.

Augustine retired from the position of Fairness Commissioner in March 2015.