- Born
- November 5, 1949 — Amritsar, India
- Family
- Married to an Iranian husband
- Education
- University of Delhi
- Career
- Executive director of the Maytree Foundation, founder of the Global Diversity Exchange at the Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University
- Political Experience
- Appointed to the Senate of Canada on March 18, 2016
- Notable
- Co-chair of the Global Future Council on Migration hosted by the World Economic Forum. Director at the Environics Institute, and Samara Canada. Chair emerita of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council and formerly the chair of Lifeline Syria. Appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2005 and became a Member of the Order of Canada in 2011. Received an honorary doctorate in laws York University in 2012. Received the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2014.
Based on publicly available information — may contain inaccuracies
Business & Financial Interests
Before her appointment to the Senate, Ratna Omidvar had a long career in the non-profit and academic sectors. She was the founding Executive Director of the Global Diversity Exchange (GDX) at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), an institution focused on immigration and diversity. She also served as the President of the Maytree Foundation, a private Canadian foundation that works to reduce poverty and inequality. Her public disclosures have listed her role as a director for the Environics Institute, a non-profit that conducts public opinion research. She has also reportedly served on the boards of other organizations, including the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). Her professional life has been centered on philanthropy, immigration settlement, and diversity initiatives rather than private-sector business.
Key Relationships & Connections
Ratna Omidvar was appointed to the Senate in 2016 on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as part of his effort to create a more independent, non-partisan upper chamber. She is a member of the Independent Senators Group (ISG), the largest and most diverse parliamentary group in the Senate, which operates without a party whip. Through her extensive work in the philanthropic and immigration sectors, she has developed relationships with leaders in non-governmental organizations across Canada. Her leadership at the Maytree Foundation connected her with prominent figures in Canadian civil society and policy-making circles.
Potential Conflicts of Interest
In 2018, the Senate's Ethics Officer, Pierre Legault, found that Senator Omidvar had breached the Conflict of Interest Code for Senators. The investigation concerned a trip she took to London, England, which was sponsored by two UK-based charitable foundations. The Ethics Officer's report concluded that she had failed to publicly disclose the sponsored travel within the required 30-day period. According to the report, the failure to disclose was an administrative error. The Ethics Officer noted that Senator Omidvar had been transparent during the investigation and had taken corrective action. As a result, no penalty was recommended. Some observers also raised questions about a potential conflict of interest regarding a bill she sponsored to change regulations for charities, given her deep roots and connections in the charitable sector, but no formal investigation was launched on that matter.
Public Controversies
The most significant public controversy involving Senator Omidvar was the 2018 finding by the Senate Ethics Officer that she had violated the ethics code. The breach was related to her failure to properly disclose a sponsored trip to the United Kingdom in a timely manner. While the officer determined it was an administrative oversight and did not recommend sanctions, the finding received media attention as an instance of a senator failing to follow disclosure rules. Additionally, a private member's bill she introduced, Bill S-216, which aimed to amend the Income Tax Act regarding how charities can work with other organizations, sparked public debate. While the bill had supporters who saw it as a way to modernize the charitable sector, some critics raised concerns about its potential impact and questioned whether her close ties to the sector influenced her legislative focus. This debate, however, remained largely within policy circles and did not escalate into a major scandal.