Dr. Vivienne Poy Receives 2022 CCAE Friend of Education Award

The Honourable Dr. Vivienne Poy is a steadfast supporter of education, with efforts that span across Canada, most notably at The University of Toronto, McGill University, York University, Simon Fraser University, and Seneca College – at which Poy’s impact is ground-breaking. She is a high-level dedicated patron and respected icon of multiculturalism, who has been the driving force behind many successes across these institutions, and through these roles she has created ripple effects across the globe.

For decades, Dr. Poy has worked tirelessly in service of community, she has been a notable entrepreneur, a designer, an author, a historian, and a trailblazer who has dedicated her life to sharing the story of the Chinese Canadian experience. Growing up in Hong Kong, she began her journey in Canada at McGill University where she studied history, followed by a Fashion Arts Diploma from Seneca College. Her entrepreneurial passion was merged in 1981 with the launch of her fashion company Vivienne Poy Mode. At the same time, she established herself as a leading champion of the Chinese Canadian community, through her volunteerism, her scholarship and her tireless work to enrich postsecondary education.

“She has made a tremendous difference in lifting the voice of the Chinese Canadian community and ensuring that their place in Canada’s history is recognized and understood. Dr. Poy is an outstanding alumna, volunteer, and University citizen, and is truly deserving of this recognition.” – Meric S. Gertler, CM, FRSC, FBA, FAcSS, President, University of Toronto

Following her student experience at McGill, she has made an exemplary impact on the institution, and has become an inspiring role-model, leveraging her stature as a successful businesswoman and the first Canadian of Asian descent to serve in the Senate of Canada to advance causes such as multiculturism, human rights, and gender equality. She has served on many McGill volunteer roles, including the Board of Governors, to name a few.

She has established scholarships, awards, and donated her entire collection to the Fashion Resource Centre at Seneca College. These 275 pieces play a pivotal role to the students’ knowledge, and demonstrate the history of fashion and its relation to the College’s posterity. Her volunteerism has garnered her as a renowned component of the Seneca community both with faculty and its students.

At York, Dr. Poy’s longstanding engagement and support has made a profound impact on their community members. Poy was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in recognition of her unwavering commitment to global engagement, human rights, multiculturalism, and gender and racial equality.

Throughout her professional life as a respected scholar; progressive legislator and community leader; dedicated philanthropist; and accomplished fashion designer, author, and entrepreneur, she has promoted a message of resilience in the face of challenges — one that has empowered countless future leaders across Canada to contribute their knowledge, experience, and talents to our multicultural society. – Rhonda L. Lenton, PhD President and Vice-Chancellor York University

At Simon Fraser, Dr. Poy has fostered significant contributions to community engaged academia as a patron of the David Lam Centre’s Chinese Canadian History Project. In collaboration with SFU, Poy helped garner widespread support for this civic education initiative that shines a bright light on both the challenges and the contributions of Chinese Canadians to our country.

Poy has received numerous honours for her work, including two Queen’s Jubilee medals, being named among the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants and recognition as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women.

The University of Toronto, the lead nominating institution for the award, has enjoyed the support of Dr. Poy for decades. They are proud to count her as a distinguished alumna, who holds both an MA and PhD in history from the University. She served on their Governing Council and accepted the role of Chancellor, the ceremonial head of the University, in 2003.

In addition to this, she has spearheaded numerous initiatives at the University. She has established several scholarships, the Richard Lee Chair in Chinese Canadian Studies, held at University College, and the Richard Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library, which boasts a tremendous collection of research material related to the unique history of the region. She has been a key figure in the growth of the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and has given her time and her expertise to build robust resources to allow for a deeper understanding of Asian-Canadian history and experience.

"Dr. Poy has done so much both at U of T and across the country to encourage people to look at the broad story of Canada, its diverse origins, and Canada’s contributions to the world. She has enriched the experience of so many through her tireless efforts to support scholarships, undergraduate and graduate education and innovative research."

– Joseph Wong, Vice President, International, Roz and Ralph Halbert Professor of Innovation, University of Toronto

The list of accomplishments Dr. Vivienne Poy has to her name is truly breathtaking and is only outshined by her kind and altruistic nature. She is a force for Canada in all respects, of responsibility to oneself, their alma maters, their community, and the country as a whole. It is with esteemed honour that CCAE recognizes The Honourable Dr. Vivienne Poy with the Friend of Education Award for her contributions to Canadian education and beyond.