President Holland Builds Bridge With Canadian Trailblazer

President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, met Monday, March 24, 2025, in Toronto with Dr. Jean Augustine, an educator, philanthropist and the first Black woman elected to Canada’s House of Commons.

Their discussion focused on mutual respect, the importance of community service, a shared commitment to youth development, and the need for collaboration to address societal challenges and promote positive change.

Downloadable B-roll & SOTs

“Right now, we’re in challenging times,” said Dr. Augustine, who served in the House of Commons for more than two decades (1993–2006). “We need to have good people who come with experience, who’ve walked the route, who can show some trails, and who could be encouraging to young people, encouraging to the next generation that there is hope and there is work to be done and that all of us together can move our nation and our communities forward.”

Dr. Augustine does some of that important work herself. The Jean Augustine Centre for Young Women’s Empowerment is an after-school program in Toronto that keeps girls ages 7–17 off the streets.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has supported Dr. Augustine’s work in Toronto for several years.

“We wanted to hear her. We listened to her,” said President Holland, who was in Canada on Sunday to rededicate the Church’s Toronto Ontario Temple. “We believe in those young women. So often it’s the young women who are left without help. Helping them is clearly the kind of thing that we get involved with in our own welfare and self-reliance services. It’s the self-help that the Church has always taught, and that rings in a familiar ear when we hear it coming from someone like Dr. Augustine.”

Before Monday’s meeting, President Holland presented Dr. Augustine with additional funds for her organization.

“She was thrilled with that gesture, as were we,” President Holland said. “It was thrilling to hear her talk about what it would do for her young women. So it was a beneficial gift [and] very timely to give it this week.”

Dr. Augustine thanked the Church for its support.

“My gratitude, my thanks, and my deep appreciation for the friendship, for the support, and for the fact that we have models that we can offer our young people,” Dr. Augustine said. “I think the motive, the motivation, the raison d’être for the church is to provide service, is to encourage human beings to be better human beings as we walk this route.”

From 2007 to 2015, Dr. Augustine served as Fairness Commissioner for the Government of Ontario. She also led the motion in 1995 that created Black History Month in Canada.