MP Wai Young is a mother, small-business woman, and community activist. She is honoured to represent Vancouver South as a Conservative. Born in Hong Kong, Wai moved to Canada at a young age, growing up and attending school in the South Vancouver community. As a foster parent of seven children, Wai and her husband are now raising their teenaged twins in this beautiful neighbourhood.
Wai has a deep commitment and passion for strengthening our community. Professionally, Wai operated a small-business and has over 30 years of experience in social policy and program development, contributing to a number of award-winning policies to build stronger communities in Vancouver and across Canada. Her diverse clientele includes all three levels of government, the Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Association, Family Services of Greater Vancouver, VANOC, and the South Vancouver Policing Centre.
In addition, she worked with a number of agencies to expand their services to support immigrant settlement, including S.U.C.C.E.S.S., the Immigrant Services Society, and MOSAIC. Wai also led the development of the Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA), which connects 450 settlement agencies to aid the integration of immigrants and refugees.
Wai is also a passionate volunteer. She served as the President of the Strathcona Community Centre Association, and served as a Director of the YWCA Vancouver and the Mennonite Central Committee of B.C. and bi-nationally. As a foster mother, she also developed Canada’s first Foster Parent Training Program. In addition, Wai launched various “Youth-at-Risk” initiatives and helped to jumpstart one of the longest-running breakfast programs for underprivileged children in the country.
Wai is an alumnus of Killarney Secondary School and the University of British Columbia, where she obtained a degree in sociology.
Elected to the House of Commons in the Spring of 2011, Wai is honoured to serve in the following roles:
- Vice-Chair of the BC / Yukon Caucus
- Vice-Chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association
- Member of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security
- Member of the Standing Committee for Status of Women
- Interparliamentary Committee memberships include China, US, Taiwan, and Japan
As your MP, Wai’s priority is community-focused service and leadership. She is working to deliver results by lessening the tax burden for families, building our economy for the future, and making sure the justice system stands up for victims and the vulnerable.
