Marci Ien

Marci Ien PC (born 1969) is a Canadian politician who served as minister for women and gender equality and youth from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Liberal Party, Ien represented Toronto Centre in the House of Commons from 2020 to 2025. Previously, she was a broadcast journalist for CTV.^[2] She co-hosted the CTV daytime talk show The Social from 2017 until 2020.^[3] Previously, she was a reporter for CTV News and a co-anchor on the CTV morning program Canada AM. As a child, she appeared regularly on the Christian children's show Circle Square.

The Honourable Marci Ien PC
Ien in 2023
Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth
In office October 26, 2021 – March 14, 2025
Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Preceded by	Maryam Monsef (Women and Gender Equality) Bardish Chagger (Youth)
Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre
In office October 26, 2020 – March 23, 2025
Preceded by	Bill Morneau
Succeeded by	Evan Solomon
Personal details
Born	1969 (age 55–56)[1] Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Alma mater	Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (BA)
Occupation	Journalist, television host
Known for	Former co-host of The Social, former news anchor for Canada AM

Background

Marci Ien is a Black Canadian^[4] of Trinidadian descent. Her father, Joel Ien, had come to Canada in the late 1960s to attend university and went on to a career in education as a teacher, principal, and school superintendent in Toronto.^[2] Ien was born in Toronto's St. James Town neighbourhood and grew up in Scarborough, going on to attend Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute and Agincourt Collegiate Institute.^[5][6] Ien appeared regularly on the Crossroads Christian Communications program Circle Square.^[4]

Ien lives in Toronto with her daughter Blaize and son Dash.^[2] Her 2020 book Off Script: Living Out Loud chronicles her life growing up in Toronto, working as a journalist, and deciding to enter politics.^[7]

Journalism

Ien graduated with a degree in radio and television arts from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in 1991.^[8] She began her career at CHCH-TV in Hamilton, Ontario in 1991 as a news writer and general assignment reporter.^[4] In 1995 she began reporting from Queen's Park in Toronto, with her reports appearing both on CHCH's local news and on WIC's national newscast Canada Tonight.^[4]

In 1997 Ien moved to CTV as a reporter for CTV Atlantic, covering major stories including the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, before returning to Toronto in 1998 to anchor CTV Newsnet, as CTV's all-news channel was then called,.^[4] From 2003, Ien also anchored the nationwide Canada AM morning broadcast show, which she co-hosted from 2011 until the show's cancellation in 2016. Ien returned to Atlantic Canada to participate in the Halifax leg of the 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay.

Following Canada AM, Ien was a guest and then permanent host of The Social (2016-2020) until her move to politics.

Awards

In 1995, Ien won a Radio Television Digital News Association Award for her news serial Journey to Freedom, a look at the Underground Railroad.^[4] In 2008, she was the recipient of a Black Business and Professional Association Harry Jerome Award in the media category.^[4] In 2014, she was granted the Planet Africa Award for excellence in media. In 2015, Ien garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination in the Best Host category for her work on Canada AM. In 2016, she was honoured with an African Canadian Achievement Award for her journalistic achievements.

Politics

On September 17, 2020, Ien was announced as the Liberal Party of Canada's candidate in Toronto Centre for a by-election to fill the seat vacated by former Finance Minister Bill Morneau's resignation.^[9] She won the by-election on October 26, 2020, defeating Green Party of Canada leader Annamie Paul.^[10]

Ien was re-elected on September 20, 2021, with increased support^[11][12] and appointed to Cabinet as Minister for Women, Gender Equality and Youth on October 26, 2021.

Ien announced on March 7, 2025, that she would not be a candidate in the 2025 Canadian federal election.^[13]

Electoral record

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Toronto Centre
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Marci Ien	23,071	50.35	+8.35	$108,727.70
	New Democratic	Brian Chang	11,909	25.99	+8.99	$58,981.25
	Conservative	Ryan Lester	5,571	12.16	+6.46	$10,494.07
	Green	Annamie Paul	3,921	8.56	–24.14	$93,340.55
	People's	Syed Jaffrey	1,047	2.29	–1.19	$0.00
	Communist	Ivan Byard	181	0.40	–	$0.00
	Animal Protection	Peter Stubbins	117	0.25	–	$4,744.99
Total valid votes/expense limit			45,817	100.00	–	$110,776.83
Total rejected ballots			366	0.79	+0.29
Turnout			46,183	57.42	+26.52
Eligible voters			80,430
	Liberal hold		Swing		–0.32
Source: Elections Canada[14]

v t e Canadian federal by-election, October 26, 2020: Toronto Centre Resignation of Bill Morneau
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Marci Ien	10,581	42.0	-15.4	$116,839[citation needed]
	Green	Annamie Paul	8,250	32.7	+25.6	$100,008[citation needed]
	New Democratic	Brian Chang	4,280	17.0	-5.3	$71,222[citation needed]
	Conservative	Benjamin Gauri Sharma	1,435	5.7	-6.4	$0[citation needed]
	People's	Baljit Bawa	269	1.1	–	$22,752[citation needed]
	Libertarian	Keith Komar	135	0.5	–
	Independent	Kevin Clarke	123	0.5	–
	Free	Dwayne Cappelletti	76	0.3	–	$1,570[citation needed]
	No affiliation	Above Znoneofthe	56	0.2	–	$0[citation needed]
Total valid votes			25,205	100.0	–
Total rejected ballots			118	0.5	-0.2
Turnout			25,323	30.9	-35.2
Electors on lists			81,861
	Liberal hold		Swing		-20.5
Elections Canada[15][16]