TMU Chancellor Donette Chin-Loy Chang is recipient of Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs Lifetime Achievement Award

April 14, 2025

Time dulls pain.

However, it does not erase emotional wounds.

It is understandable why Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Chancellor Donette Chin-Loy Chang paused and took a deep breath before delivering her acceptance speech after receiving the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs (ACCE) Lifetime Achievement Award on April 12 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

In 2012, her husband Ray Chang was bestowed the honour.

“This is a full circle moment for me,” Chin-Loy Chang noted. “I was in this room when another great Canadian Chinese was honoured with this award. I am thrilled yet overwhelmed to be a recipient now.”

Chang, TMU’s third Chancellor, died in 2014.

Introverted and simple, the very successful businessman donated millions of dollars and provided hundreds of immigrants with job opportunities at CI Financial that he co-founded.

“He was my greatest mentor,” said his widow.

Watching parents Lloyd and Daphne Chin-Loy starting businesses in Jamaica and Toronto fuelled Chin-Loy Chang’s entrepreneurial interest.

The World War II veteran and his wife founded Aquarius Record Store & Studio where legendary artists Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Stevie Wonder recorded. He also co-founded Fireside Fast Food.

The family patriarch died 27 years ago.

“Some businesses failed and others succeeded, but they carried on,” Chin-Loy Chang said. “Eventually finding their niche in the recording industry, their examples of diligence, hard work and true grit were examples for my siblings and me.”

After graduating from TMU in 1978, Chin-Loy Chang was a reporter/producer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio and later led Radio Canada International Overseas Service.

“In Canada, we are a minority and in China, we are a minority because we don’t speak the language,” the Jamaican-born Hakka pointed out. “When I was working at the CBC, there was one face that looked like mine and that was Adrienne Clarkson to whom we owe much because she blazed a trail for us.”

When an opportunity arose in 1984 to return to Jamaica, Chin-Loy Chang jumped at it.

Ruder Finn & Rotman, one of America’s largest and most respected public relations firms, headhunted her for their client -- The Jamaican government.

Assigned to the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), she reported to late Executive Director Winnifred ‘Winnie’ Risden-Hunter who was also late Prime Minister Edward Seaga’s Press Secretary.

Chin-Loy Chang went on to become head of JIS Radio, setting policies and guidelines and settling issues.

After her three-year contract with JIS concluded, she spent three years heading Musson Jamaica marketing department and freelanced with Dunlop Corbin Compton before launching Donette Chin-Loy & Associates.

In 2000, Chin-Loy Chang returned to Canada to join Chang who was Chair of the then third largest mutual funds company in Canada.

That same year, she partnered with close friend Lucy La Grassa who she met at TMU five decades ago to establish La Grassa Chin-Loy Communications.

Raised by a family that embraces philanthropy, Chin-Loy Chang ‘gives until it hurts’.

At TMU, she has funded scholarships and student support programs, helping hundreds of young people continue their education and improve their lives.

During the pandemic, Chin-Loy Chang created a Student Emergency Fund and supported the Viola Desmond Awards and the President’s Awards to Champion Equity.

Last January, she donated $1 million to the new Student Well-Being Centre.

As Co-Patron of the University of the West Indies’ largest fundraiser in Canada the last 16 years, Chin-Loy Chang has overseen the granting of scholarships to over 1,000 Caribbean students and supported the establishment of emergency funds for students during the pandemic.

She and her late husband previously donated $1 million to UWI to support its educational development.

Chin-Loy Chang also co-chaired Food for the Poor Canada, helping facilitate the construction of hundreds of schools and homes across the Caribbean and Latin America.

“Her philanthropic efforts are extensive and impactful,” said ACCE Executive Director Karen Ng. “For her remarkable contribution to education, philanthropy, the community and initiatives that embody strength and development in Canada and the Caribbean, we are grateful to be acknowledging her as our Lifetime Achievement Award winner this year.”

For Chin-Loy Chang, giving until she drops is necessary.

“Life is not about where you start or where you end,” the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Board member said. “It really is about how satisfied are you right now in this moment. The end will eventually come no doubt. For the young people, I say follow your dreams and your passion. If you stumble, pick up your stuff and keep on going with kindness, grace and grit and be prepared to keep changing. Let’s resolve to be kinder and more compassionate to each other in these uncertain times because we really are all one.”

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) sponsors the award that recognizes individuals who have, through their lifetime, made significant contributions to the betterment of the Chinese Canadian community.

TMU Chancellor Donette Chin-Loy Chang and ACCE Awards Gala Co-Chair Tyson Jones (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

Hugo Lorenson, RBC’s Regional Vice President of Commercial Financial Services, presented the award to Chin-Loy Chang.

“Over the years, this award has recognized some of our nation’s most influential political, business and community leaders and this year is no exception,” the lawyer-turned-banking executive said. “Tonight, we honour a true pioneer of international communication in philanthropy. This is a woman who has bridged continents, transformed the media and dedicated her life to empowering voices.”

RBC’s Vice-President Hugo Lorenson presented the ACCE Lifetime Achievement Award to TMU Chancellor Donette Chin-Loy Chang (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

Lorenson added that Chin-Loy Chang is a source of inspiration and change.

“Her journey is a testament to the power of communication, the impact of dedicated leadership and the extraordinary difference one passionate individual can make across cultures and continents,” he pointed out.