Jennifer Hollett (born September 16, 1975) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

media executive and former television personality and political activist. She was the 2015

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

's candidate in the new riding of University—Rosedale. Hollett has a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in Journalism and Communications from

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

in Montreal, and a Masters in Public Administration from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Hollett was a contributor to

CBC News Network CBC News Network (formerly CBC Newsworld) is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). It is Canada's first all-news channel, and the world's third-oldest television service of this ...

's prime time show '' Connect with Mark Kelley'' and was formerly a

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

VJ and

videographer Videography involves capturing moving images on electronic media (such as: videotape, direct to disk recording, or solid state storage), and can include streaming media. It encompasses both video production and post-production methods. Histori ...

, she hosted ''

MuchOnDemand ''MuchOnDemand'' (also called MOD) is an hour-long per broadcast viewer interactive television program aired on MuchMusic, Monday through Friday at 5pm ET. It was broadcast live from 299 Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario. ''The Best of Mu ...

'', '' Much In Your Space'', '' Combat Zone'', ''

Power Shift Power Shift is an annual youth summit which has been held in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Other Power Shift Conferences are also being organised by members of the International Youth Climate Movement ...

'', ''

Count Down Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

'', '' Live@Much'' and some specials until leaving the network in 2005. Hollett started out as a radio jockey at

. Her working career started with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in the New Media Division working on websites for artists such as

Our Lady Peace Our Lady Peace (sometimes shortened to OLP) is a Canadian alternative rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guit ...

, Prozzak and

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the " Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular musi ...

. She later moved up to CTV, then to MuchMusic. She hosted "The Chatroom" on TalkTV on the recommendation of a CTV producer she met at Sony. At the end of that year, she was hired by MuchMusic. In 2006, Hollett volunteered for

CARE Canada CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, formerly Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe) is a major international humanitarian agency delivering emergency relief and long-term international development projects. Founded i ...

, touring Canadian Secondary Schools and speaking to youth about her experiences in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

with the organization. Hollett has also managed e-communications for Plan Canada (2009), worked with

Journalists for Human Rights Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) is Canada's largest international media development organization. Based in Toronto, Ontario, JHR was founded in 2002 by Benjamin Peterson and Alexandra Sicotte-Levesque.Davis, Nicholas, "Africa got under his ski ...

(2007-2008) to train journalists in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. She is an advocate of girls' and women's rights, and has acted as the Official Summit Moderator for the

G(irls)20 Summit G, or g, is the seventh letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''gee'' (pronounced ), plural ''gees''. The lowerc ...

s in Toronto (2010), Paris (2011), Mexico City (2012), Moscow (2013), Sydney (2014). While at Harvard, Hollett developed the 'Super Pac App', which helped viewers better understand television campaign ads during the 2012 U.S. election. By recording a snippet of audio from a television ad as it plays, a user can learn who paid for the ad, how much money that political group has raised and spent so far, and through links to nonpartisan news sources, learn about how truthful the claims in the ad are. Hollett's past includes working with The Leading Change Network to train community activists with Marshall Ganz, a strategist credited with helping to devise the successful grass roots organizing model and training for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

’s 2008 presidential campaign. She was an Atkinson Associate on Civic Technology and a Broadbent Leadership Fellow. Her public speaking appearances include the Hart House Hancock Lecture and TEDx. In 2016, Hollett was appointed head of news and government for Twitter in Canada. She became the executive director of ''

the Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, nonprofit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an eight-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a nation ...

'' in June 2020.

Political career

In 2013, she sought to be the New Democratic Party's candidate in

Toronto Centre Toronto Centre () is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1872 to 1925, and since 1935, under the names Centre Toronto (1872–1903), Toronto Centre (1903– ...

for that riding's pending federal by-election, but was defeated for the nomination by

Linda McQuaig Linda Joy McQuaig (born September 1951) is a Canadian journalist, columnist, author and social critic. She worked as a reporter investigating the Patti Starr affair. She wrote books and newspaper columns focusing on corporate influence in econ ...

on September 15, 2013. Considered a

star candidate A star candidate () is high-profile individual who is entering or re-entering elected politics. In Canada and the United Kingdom, the recruitment of a star candidate often includes a guaranteed nomination in a winnable seat. Star candidates com ...

for the

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National Dev ...

in the newly created federal riding of University—Rosedale in downtown Toronto, Hollett lost her 2015 run for Parliament to

Chrystia Freeland Christina Alexandra Freeland (born August 2, 1968) is a Canadian politician and journalist who has served as the Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) for University—Rosedale (federal electoral district), University—Rose ...

of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

by a margin of 50% to 28%. Hollett was a candidate for Toronto city councillor in 2018 until Premier Doug Ford cut city council from 47 seats to 25 seats two-thirds the way into the campaign. She was part of the legal challenge to Bill 5.

Electoral record

References

External links

Jennifer Hollett for University-Rosedale MuchMusic Official WebsiteCARE CanadaG(irls)20 SummitThe Leading Change NetworkHart House Hancock LectureAtkinson FoundationHow to Hate Politics by Jennifer HollettBroadbent InstituteJennifer Hollett on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollett, Jennifer Much (TV channel) personalities Canadian television reporters and correspondents Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people Concordia University alumni 1975 births Canadian women television journalists New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Canadian video jockeys Canadian media executives Twitter, Inc. people Canadian women television hosts