Ausma Malik (born ) is a Canadian politician who serves as the

deputy mayor of Toronto The deputy mayor of Toronto is a member of Toronto City Council appointed to assist the mayor of Toronto. One councillor is designated for statutory purposes and additional deputy mayors may be appointed to represent the mayor on an honorary basi ...

representing

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

East York East York is a district and former municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. The borough was dissolved ...

. Malik was elected to represent Ward 10 Spadina—Fort York on

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...

in the 2022 election. She was appointed as statutory (first) deputy mayor in 2023. Malik became the first

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

-wearing Muslim woman to be elected to public office in Canada when she served as a

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

trustee from 2014 to 2018, and is also the first Toronto city councillor to wear a

. In August 2023, Mayor

Olivia Chow Olivia Chow (born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian politician who has been the 66th and current mayor of Toronto since July 12, 2023. Previously, Chow served as the New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Parliament (MP) for Trinity—Spadina fro ...

appointed Malik as one of four deputy mayors of Toronto for the Toronto City Council 2022–2026 and as statutory deputy mayor.

Early life and career

Ausma Malik was born in to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

i immigrant parents as the third of four children and was raised in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

, Ontario. In 2013, Malik earned her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

with honours from St. Michael's College at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, where she majored in

international studies International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

and doubled minored in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. At the University of Toronto, Malik participated in student activism. In 2006, Malik attended a protest outside the American consulate in Toronto against civilian deaths caused by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

during the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...

. In 2007, she was a member of the

Canadian Federation of Students The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is a student organization in Canada, representing over 530,000 students from across Canada. Formed in 1981, the stated goal of the Federation is to represent the collective voice of Canadian students a ...

's Task Force on the Needs of Muslim Students, which published a report on failures to properly accommodate Muslim postsecondary students in respect to food choice, prayer space, religious holidays, and racial abuse. Before entering politics herself, she worked on education policy for the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is Ontario’s provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. The ...

(NDP), as a labour organizer in the

Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, and as a staffer at the

Stephen Lewis Foundation The Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) is a non-governmental organization that assists mostly AIDS- and HIV-related grassroots projects in Africa. History The foundation was started by Stephen Lewis, a former Leader of the Official Opposition (Ontar ...

Municipal politics

School trustee

In 2014, Malik was elected as a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

for Ward 10 with 40% of the vote. Her election made her the first

-wearing Muslim woman elected to public office in Canada. During the campaign, Malik was the subject of an anonymous

Islamophobic Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

campaign which distributed fliers claiming she supported the Toronto 18 terror plot,

Sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

, and

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

. During a ward trustee candidates debate, a small group of men interrupted her closing remarks by shouting that she was a "Jew hater" and "Hezbollah terrorist", eventually forcing her to abandon her closing statement and leave through a back door. During the

2018 Toronto municipal election The 2018 Toronto municipal election was held on October 22, 2018, to elect a mayor and city councillors in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Registration for candidates for the office of mayor, councillor, and school board trustee opened on May 1, 20 ...

, Malik registered to run in one of the downtown wards being split from Trinity—Spadina. Incumbent councillor

Joe Cressy Joseph Cressy (born July 10, 1984) is a former Canadian politician and activist who served on the Toronto City Council from 2014 to 2022. Cressy represented Ward 10 Spadina—Fort York, and was the chair of the Toronto Board of Health. On 22 Apr ...

planned to jointly campaign with her while running in the other half of his old ward, but Premier

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2018. He represents the Toronto rid ...

reduced the number of wards from 47 to 25. This eliminated the ward Malik planned to run in, and she ended her campaign. Malik did not run for re-election as a TDSB trustee and her term ended in 2018. In January 2020, Malik was the

keynote speaker A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...

at the University of Toronto's 2020 Next Steps Conference. In July 2022, Malik went on unpaid leave as a director of social engagement at the

Atkinson Foundation The Atkinson Charitable Foundation is a major Canadian charity established in 1942 by Joseph E. Atkinson (1865–1948). It is a non-governmental, and non-profit organization. History Joseph E. Atkinson (1865–1948) was the founding chair of the ...

to run for Toronto City Council.

Toronto City Council

Joe Cressy, who was elected to represent the new Ward 10 Spadina—Fort York in 2018, did not run in the

2022 Toronto municipal election The 2022 Toronto municipal election was held on October 24, 2022, to elect the mayor and 25 city councillors in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In addition, school trustees were elected to the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District ...

. Malik entered the race and was endorsed by the progressive advocacy group Progress Toronto, a registered third party in the municipal election, as well as by a number of NDP members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). On October 24, 2022, Malik was elected to

. She took office on November 15. Malik is the first Toronto city councillor to wear a

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malik, Ausma Living people 1980s births Toronto city councillors Deputy mayors of places in Canada University of Toronto alumni Women municipal councillors in Ontario Canadian Muslims Toronto District School Board trustees Canadian people of Pakistani descent 21st-century Canadian municipal councillors 21st-century Canadian women politicians