Farah Mohamed

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The Honourable
Farah Mohamed
Mohamed in 2025
Senator for Ontario
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 March 2025
Nominated byJustin Trudeau
Appointed byMary Simon
Personal details
Born (1970-07-05) 5 July 1970
Kampala, Uganda
PartyIndependent Senators Group

Farah Mohamed (born 5 July 1970) is a Canadian Senator, former CEO of The King’s Trust Canada, former CEO of the Malala Fund, a non-profit founded by Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. She is the founder of G(irls)20, now called Fora.

Farah is the recipient of a Meritorious Service Medal, a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Coronation Medal and one of the recipients of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards, presented by Canadian Immigrant magazine.[1] In 2014, she was also recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women.[2] On two occasions she was named a Women of Influence. She was appointed to the Senate of Canada in March 2025.[3]

Early life and education

Born in Kampala, Uganda, Mohamed came to Canada as a refugee.[4]

She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Queens University and a Master of Arts and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Western Ontario.[5][6]

Career

Mohammed worked as a Liberal political aide earlier in her career to Burlington MP Paddy Torsney and as a ministerial aide to former Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan for an extended period while McLellan held the justice, health, and public safety portfolio.[7] She later headed the charitable foundation founded by former minister Belinda Stronach from 2008 to 2011.

In 2010, Mohamed founded G(irls)20, an annual leadership event for young women held in advance of the G20 summit.[8] Mohamed served as CEO of the Malala Fund, a non-profit founded by Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai[9] between 2017 and 2019, and headed the public affairs team at the Toronto Region Board of Trade between 2019 and 2020. As of 2024, she was the CEO of King’s Trust Canada, the Canadian arm of the youth charity founded by King Charles.[10]

Senate

On March 7, 2025, Mohammed was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a representative for Ontario,[3] two days before Trudeau was due to be replaced as Liberal Party leader. She was among a group of five senators who were Trudeau's final senate appointments, announced two months after Trudeau having announced his pending resignation, that included former provincial Liberal ministers Sandra Pupatello and Tony Ince, Moncton mayor Dawn Arnold and non-profit executive Katherine Hay.

Mohammed joined the Independent Senators Group on June 3, 2025.[11]

References

  1. Suhasini, Gloria; Jingco, Kaitlin; Meurrens, Steven; Murthy, Murali. "Canadas Top 25 Immigrants 2014". Canadian Immigrant. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  2. "Who are the 100 Women 2014?". BBC News. 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  3. Trudeau, Justin (2025-03-07). "Prime Minister announces the appointment of senators" (Press release). Ottawa, Ontario: Office of the Prime Minister. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
  4. Profile - Mohamed, Farah Parliament of Canada
  5. "Our Story". Girls20. Archived from the original on 2021-02-07. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  6. "Move over Oscars, we're announcing our 2019 policy stars". Public Policy Forum. 2019-01-31. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  7. "Debate, Motion for Address in Reply, Speech from the Throne". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 154. Canada: Senate. October 28, 2025. p. 857.
  8. "Farah Mohamed". Canadian Immigrant. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  9. Carbert, Michelle (5 June 2018). "Trudeau says gender equality will be top priority at G7 summit despite concern about Trump's distractions". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  10. Previl, Sean (19 November 2024). "Youth unemployment is near decade-highs. What will it take to fix it?". Global News. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  11. "Trudeau-appointed senators David Richards, Farah Mohamed change party affiliations". Globe and Mail. June 4, 2025. Retrieved June 5, 2025.