Minister of Consumer Services

Margarett Best

Lawyer, advocate and dedicated community volunteer, Margarett Best was re-elected as the MPP in the Constituency of Scarborough-Guildwood on October 6, 2011, making history by becoming the first African-Canadian woman re-elected to the Provincial Legislature in the Province of Ontario. On Oct 20, 2011 Premier Dalton McGuinty appointed her to Cabinet as the Minister of Consumer Services.

Ms Best was first elected to the Ontario Legislature as Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in October 10, 2007, and appointed to Cabinet as the Minister of Health Promotion, later changed to Health Promotion and Sport to reflect the sport component of the Ministry.

In her capacity as Minister of Health Promotion and Sport, she championed the passage of legislation banning smoking in motor vehicles with children present, and was the lead Minister in Ontario’s successful bid led by Premier Dalton McGuinty for the Pan/Parapan American Games of 2015.

Best is an alumnus of the University of Toronto at Scarborough, and Osgoode Hall Law School. She also holds a Mutual Funds Certificate from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada. In 2008, the Northern Caribbean University in her native country of Jamaica, bestowed her with an Honorary Doctors of Law Degree for her substantive contributions towards empowering people of colour through humanitarian work.

Best was the proud recipient of an African Canadian Achievement Award in 2006 and in 2011. In 2009, she was bestowed the BBPA Women of Distinction Award, the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada Award in the Distinguished Services category of Equality/Social Justice; named one of Canada’s most influential women in Sport and Physical Activity for 2010;and was a recipient of the City of Toronto’s Bob Marley Diversity Award in 2011.

Best has also been recognized by the Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre of Durham for her commitment to social and gender equality issues. She received a “Reaching Out and Giving Back Award” from the Prospect Primary School Alumni Association of Canada, and a Professional Award of Excellence from the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.

She was a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada Solicitor’s Examination Blueprint Committee, the Board of the Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre of Durham, Sheena’s Place Breakfast Committee, and the College Compensations and Appointment Council.

Her community work includes advocating for public safety and diversity awareness as a member of the Ontario Provincial Police Advisory Committee. She presented seminars and facilitated entrepreneurial workshops for under-serviced youths and mentored young people on possible career choices in law;and was a member of the Mature Student Association and Black Law Student Association of Osgoode Hall Law School. For the past four years, she has hosted an annual Scarborough Youth Career Fair in her Riding of Scarborough-Guildwood.

She was a member of the Citizenship & Immigration Canada/Non-Governmental Organization Working Group on Immigration Reform; the Committee on Anti-Racism, Access and Equity in the Megacity; First Vice-President of the Black Business and Professional Association and a board member of Urban Financial Services Coalition.

Best has a longstanding involvement with the Jamaican Consulate in Toronto and the Consular Corp., and is a keen supporter of the Jamaican, Caribbean and other communities in our diverse province. She is a sponsor through Project for the Advancement of Childhood Education (PACE), of Love Lane Basic School, the basic school she attended as a child in May Pen, Clarendon, where she was born.

Best is a mother of three adult children, an avid gardener who loves the arts and she has a passion for writing.