Arab Women Who Shaped Canada

In Canada, Arab success is not measured only by titles or public visibility. It is also measured by the impact people leave on institutions, communities and public life. From science and politics to rights advocacy, health technology and writing, Arab women in Canada have helped shape conversations far beyond their own communities.

This report highlights selected women whose work has left a visible mark in different fields. It is not an exhaustive list, but a window into the depth and diversity of Arab women’s contributions to Canadian life.

Dr. Mona Nemer stands among the most prominent Arab Canadian figures in science and public policy. Born in Lebanon, she completed her PhD in chemistry at McGill University and became a leading researcher in molecular genetics and cardiac biology. She serves as Canada’s Chief Science Advisor, after a distinguished academic career that included serving as Vice-President of Research at the University of Ottawa and Director of its Molecular Genetics and Cardiac Regeneration Laboratory. She has authored more than 200 scientific papers.

Nemer’s importance goes beyond her scientific record. She represents the movement of expertise from the laboratory to public decision-making, showing how an Arab Canadian woman can help strengthen evidence-based policy at the national level.

In politics, Fatima Houda-Pepin remains one of the Moroccan Canadian women who helped open doors for Arab women in public office. Born in Meknes, Morocco, she arrived in Canada in 1976 and later studied at Laval University, the University of Ottawa, McGill University and the Université de Montréal. She represented La Pinière in Quebec’s National Assembly from 1994 to 2014 and served as First Vice-President of the National Assembly.

Her career was significant because it came at a time when Arab and Muslim women were far less visible in Canadian political institutions. Whatever debates surrounded some of her positions, her path remains part of the history of Arab participation in Canadian public life.

A newer political generation is represented by Ruba Ghazal, the Member of Quebec’s National Assembly for Mercier and a senior figure in Québec solidaire. Born in Beirut to a Palestinian refugee family, she arrived in Quebec as a child and built a visible francophone political presence. Quebec’s National Assembly lists her as the MNA for Mercier, Leader of the Second Opposition Group and critic for files including feminism and inclusive nationalism.

Ghazal’s story is not only about being elected. It is about how a woman from a Palestinian refugee background became part of Quebec’s public debate on identity, language, social justice and women’s representation.

In rights advocacy and public life, Amira Elghawaby represents another form of Arab Canadian impact. In 2023, she became Canada’s first Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia after a career as a journalist and human rights advocate. Her role supported federal efforts to address anti-Muslim hate and raise awareness of the diversity of Muslim identities in Canada. Her mandate ended in February 2026 as part of a wider federal restructuring that replaced the office with a new advisory council on rights, equality and inclusion.

Elghawaby’s work came at the intersection of media, rights advocacy and government policy, in one of Canada’s most sensitive public conversations: how to confront hate while protecting inclusion and democratic values.

In health technology, Huda Idrees offers a different model of Arab women’s leadership. An engineer and University of Toronto alumna, she founded Dot Health, a platform designed to help patients access, manage and share their health information securely. In 2019, the University of Toronto highlighted her recognition as a YWCA Toronto Young Woman of Distinction for her work in health technology.

Idrees’ story matters because it places an Arab Canadian woman in one of the most competitive fields in the country: health innovation. Her work focuses on a practical question that affects patients every day: who controls health information, and how easily can people access their own medical history?

In writing, education and emotional healing, Najwa Zebian has built a public voice that reaches readers far beyond the Arab community. A Lebanese Canadian author, speaker, educator and activist, Zebian writes about self-awareness, dignity, healing and personal growth, combining education with a deeply human public message.

Her impact lies in turning personal experience, migration, language and emotional pain into writing that speaks to a wide audience, especially women and young people looking for a voice that recognizes both vulnerability and strength.

Together, these women show that Arab women’s impact in Canada cannot be reduced to one field or one image. Some shaped science, others entered political institutions, defended rights, built technology, or created language for healing and self-worth.

In a country built on immigration and diversity, these stories are more than individual success. They are part of Canada’s own public memory, and proof that Arab women did not come only to begin new lives. They also came to add knowledge, voice, leadership and lasting influence.