By Neil Armstrong

 Andria Babbington, president of Toronto and York Region Labour Council, is a member of the newly established “Mayor’s Economic Action Team” to strategize regarding how the city can best respond to tariffs imposed on Canadian products this week by the new US government led by Donald Trump.

Chaired by Mayor Olivia Chow and vice-chaired by councillor and city budget chief Shelley Carroll, it includes 11 other members: Brad Carr, CEO of Mattamy Homes; Zabeen Hirji, executive advisor at Deloitte; Blake Hutcheson, CEO of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System; John Kiru, executive director of Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas; Rod Phillips, chair of Toronto Global; Luke Robertson, vice-president of Cadillac Fairview; Dave Samuel, partner at Birch Hill Equity Partners; Brian Topp, chair of Toronto Hydro; Flavio Volpe, president of Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association; and Yung Wu, chair of NFQ Ventures and chair of Toronto Region Board of Trade.

President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian goods on March 4 and Mayor Chow has established the team to discuss how the city can support Toronto workers and businesses to meet this challenge.

The Toronto and York Region Labour Council represents over 220,000 union members in Canada’s largest urban centre. Babbington is the first woman of colour to sit as president.

As an immigrant to Canada from Jamaica in her youth, she joined the labour movement when she began working in the hotel sector in downtown Toronto. Babbington became one of the youngest chief stewards in her union’s history at the age of 19.

As a union organizer for many years, she played a pivotal role in campaigns like Hotel Workers Rising, which raised the living standard for thousands of hospitality workers across North America.

She has been on the Labour Council executive board since 2004, serving for eight years as vice president.

Babbington is known for her commitment to equality and justice for all workers and fighting for climate justice to ensure a future for children.

In 2022, she was presented with a community award by the Jamaican Canadian Association when it celebrated its 60^th anniversary and Jamaica’s 60^th anniversary of independence. Recipients for the community award were individuals who are committed to steadily growing a community focused on excellence.

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