People With Sway

MARGARETT BEST

POWERFUL BECAUSE...

As Ontario Minister of Health Promotion and MPP Scarborough–Guildwood, the Honorable Margarett Best is clearly powerful.

One of the few black MPPs currently occupying a seat at Queen’s Park and holding a top position in the Ministry of Health Promotion for Canada’s most populated province, Best has fully engaged communities toward healthy, active lifestyles and inspired many by her success in the process.

But to understand Best’s commitment and determination to succeed in politics, you have to understand her history of survival. As a young girl, her mother passed away, leaving Best and her siblings dependent on family ties for their survival in Jamaica. Soon after, she immigrated to the United States, with the help of supportive relatives based in North America.

From the beginning, she had to help support her family and began working at the age of 14. Later, after attending Wayne State University for a few years, Best took a break from school to start a family in Toronto. After graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School, she became a notable lawyer and community activist. Last year, she was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2007 provincial election, and appointed Minister of Health Promotion soon after.

POWER IS...

“Power is the ability to define success on your own terms, no matter where you may be in life. Certainly, as the Minister of Health Promotion and as the MPP for Scarborough–Guildwood, I feel that I am in a position to make a difference on a larger scale. But I also recognize the importance of making an impact in small and meaningful ways and affecting individual lives in any positive way that I can.” – J.S.