Jean Augustine
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The Honourable Jean Augustine PC CM CBE |
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| Fairness Commissioner of Ontario | |
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In office 2007–2015 |
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| Succeeded by | Mary Shenstone |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore |
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In office October 25, 1993 – January 23, 2006 |
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| Preceded by | Patrick Boyer |
| Succeeded by | Michael Ignatieff |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 9, 1937 St. George's, Grenada |
| Residence | Toronto, Ontario |
| Profession | School principal |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Jean Augustine PC CM CBE (born September 9, 1937) is a Grenadan/Canadian educational administrator, advocate for social justice, and politician. She is the first African Canadian woman to be elected to the Canadian House of Commons and the first to serve in the federal Cabinet.
From 1993 to 2006, Augustine was a Liberal member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore in Ontario. She served as a member of Cabinet (2002 to 2004). Before her election, she had been a school principal. Augustine served as the Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien from 1994 to 1996; she was Minister of State for multiculturalism (and the status of women) from 2002 to 2004.
Augustine was born in 1937 in Grenada, but immigrated to Canada in 1960 under the West Indian Domestic Scheme. She studied at the University of Toronto where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Education. After university she worked as an elementary school principal with the Metropolitan Separate School Board in Toronto.
She has become engaged in numerous organizations for education and social justice, serving with the National Black Coalition of Canada, the Board of Governors of York University, the Board of Trustees for The Hospital for Sick Children, the Board of Directors of the Donwood Institute, the Board of Harbourfront, and Chair of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority. She was also named National President of the Congress of Black Women of Canada in 1987.
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