Howard Sokolowski, is a property developer, philanthropist and sport business owner from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. He is the husband of

Linda Frum Linda Frum (born January 13, 1963) is a Canadian author and journalist, and was a Conservative member of the Senate of Canada from 2009 until 2021. She has announced her intention to retire from the Senate effective August 27, 2021 to devote mor ...

and was the former co-owner of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the CFL East Division, East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based i ...

with

David Cynamon David Cynamon (born October 19, 1963) is a Canadian company executive and was the former co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts from 2003 to 2010 with Howard Sokolowski. David is a co-chair at Mount Sinai Hospital In Toronto. Biography Raised in Edmont ...

from 2003 to 2010.Honey, I bought the Argos
from ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' retrieved 8 February 2014 His parents, Henry and Eva Sokolowski, were

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally acce ...

from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Biography

Sokolowski was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family and raised in

and attended

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...

. Upon graduation he went into property development, eventually co-founding ''Tribute Communities''. Over the next 25 years, the company went on to develop more than 25,000 homes. Later, Sokolowski founded another property development company, ''Metropia''. At the moment, Howard Sokolowski serves as chairman and chief executive officer at Metropia, where he has developed over 10,000 homes He is a benefactor of Mount Sinai Hospital, the UJA Federation, Yad Vashem, the

Bishop Strachan School The Bishop Strachan School (BSS; Strachan pronounced "Strawn") is an Anglican day and boarding school for girls in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school has approximately 900 students, including 80 boarding students, ranging from Junior Kindergar ...

, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Gardiner Museum, York University among other institutions. Sokolowski has received awards from J.D. Powers and Associates, the Ontario Home Builders Association, and the Greater Toronto Home Builders Association (BILD) including Project of the Year, Community of the Year and Builder of the Year.

Personal life

He is married to the Honourable

, a writer and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the ...

. In 2011, Sokolowski was appointed to the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is ad ...

for 'his contributions to the arts, healthcare and education'.Appointees Names to Ontario's Highest Honour
from

Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...

retrieved 8 February 2014

Toronto Argonauts

On 5 November 2003, Sokolowski and

purchased the Toronto Argonauts from the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...

.Lions owner helped rescue ailing Argos
from ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' retrieved 8 February 2014 Immediately, on assuming control of the club, they sought moving the team into a smaller stadium. The

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, ...

(formerly called the SkyDome until 2005) has a capacity of over 50,000 and although attendance at games increased during their ownership, it rarely was over 25,000. This made the stadium cavernous and unappealing to supporters. Discussions were made to play games at either

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

or at

BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former ...

but all of them fell through.Argos would have prospered at Varsity, ex-owner says: Cox
from ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and par ...

'' retrieved 8 February 2014 On the field, the team won the

92nd Grey Cup The 92nd Grey Cup game took place on November 21, 2004, at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. The game decided the championship of the 2004 Canadian Football League season. The Toronto Argonauts defeated the BC Lions 27–19. This is t ...

in 2004 under the head coach Michael 'Pinball' Clemons, the first black coach to ever win the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

. Nevertheless, despite on field success and increased ticket attendance, without a purpose-built stadium, the team lost money over the six years of Sokolowski's and Cynamon's ownership. It was eventually sold to

David Braley David Osborn Braley (31 May 1941 – 26 October 2020) was a Canadian businessman and politician who was the owner of the BC Lions and previously owner of the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was appointed to the Senate of Canada ...

on 9 February 2010.

References

External links

Metropia.ca

Tribute Communities
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sokolowski, Howard Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian sports businesspeople Jewish Canadian philanthropists Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Order of Ontario Real estate and property developers Toronto Argonauts owners York University alumni