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

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 ...

. 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 announced her retirement from the Senate effective August 27, 2021 to devote more time to oth ...

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 based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

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 Edmon ...

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

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' 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 collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...

from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Biography

Sokolowski was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family and raised in

and attended

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

. 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) is an Anglican day and boarding school for girls in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school has approximately 950 students, including 70 boarding students, ranging from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 (approximately ...

, 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 and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

. In 2011, Sokolowski was appointed to the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the Executive Council ...

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

Government of Ontario The Government of Ontario () is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The term ''Government of Ontario'' refers specifically to the executive—political Minister ...

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; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

.Lions owner helped rescue ailing Argos
from ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

'' 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 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, it is home to t ...

(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 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 ...

BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Constructed on the former Exhibition Stadium site and first opened in 2007, it is the home field of Toronto FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and Toronto Ar ...

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. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' 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 the f ...

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

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () 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 between the winners ...

. 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 three Canadian Football League (CFL) teams during his lifetime: the BC Lions, Toronto Argonauts, and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He wa ...

on 9 February 2010.

References

External links

Metropia.ca

Tribute Communities
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sokolowski, Howard Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian sports businesspeople Canadian Jews 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