Chow is a former Canadian politician who served as federal New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Trinity-Spadina from 2006–2014, and Toronto city councillor from 1991 to 2005. Chow is the widow of former NDP and Opposition Leader Jack Layton; they were married from 1988 until his death from cancer in 2011. She was a candidate in the 2014 Toronto mayoral election, where she placed third behind winner John Tory and runner-up Doug Ford.
Chow won the Trinity—Spadina riding for the New Democratic Party on January 23, 2006, becoming a member of the House of Commons of Canada. In 2011, she was re-elected in her riding for her third straight win. She speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English. In May 2012, Chow was named one of the top 25 Canadian immigrants in Canada by Canadian Immigrant magazine. Chow's personal memoir, titled My Journey, was published January 21, 2014. Chow resigned her seat in parliament on March 12, 2014, to run in the 2014 Toronto mayoral election. Following her mayoral election loss, Chow became a distinguished visiting professor at Ryerson University from 2015 to 2018.

Michael has an Honours B.A. in Political Science from Queen's University (1969) and a M.A. in Sociology from the University of Toronto (1970). He was named one of the 100 most influential people in Canadian communications according to Marketing Magazine’s Power List 2005. In 2008, he was appointed to the Ontario Premier’s Climate Change Advisory Panel and was made a Fellow of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, the highest honour which can be bestowed upon a member, for his contribution to marketing and survey research in Canada. In the spring of 2009, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Ryerson University in Toronto. In 2016 he was awarded the Order of Canada for his contributions in public opinion research.
Michael Adams is currently the president of the Environics group of research and communications consulting companies which he co-founded in 1970. In 2006 he founded the Environics Institute for Survey Research, where he also serves as President.
Mr. Adams is also the author of multiple books and is a noted commentator on social values and social change in North America. He is a popular public speaker, offering topical, entertaining talks elaborating the data presented in his books. Michael’s speaking repertoire includes a long-range look at the evolution of Canadian public opinion on a range of issues from public policy to national identity and diversity.