Senator Yonah Martin

The Honourable Yonah Martin is a Conservative Senator of British Columbia, appointed by The Right Hon. Stephen Harper in 2009. She is the first Canadian of Korean descent to serve in the Senate of Canada and the first Korean-Canadian parliamentarian in Canadian history.

Senator Martin is currently the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (since November 2015). She previously served as the Deputy Leader of the Government (2013-2015) and as the Deputy Whip of the Government (2011-2013). She has been Co-Chair of the Canada Korea Inter-Parliamentary Group since 2009; and serves on the Executive of various interparliamentary groups. Her notable achievements as a Senator include the enactment of her Senate Public Bill - Korean War Veterans Day Act (June 2013); the successful campaign to add TCM and Acupuncturists to the schedule of health professionals for GST/HST exemption (April 2014); ‎her role in the historic Canada Korea FTA (implemented January 2015); and the unanimous adoption of her Senate motions to recognize June as Deafblind Awareness Month (2016) and October as Korean Heritage Month (June 2024).  Born in Seoul, South Korea, Yonah Martin immigrated to Canada in 1972, and has resided in Metro-Vancouver ever since. She had a fulfilling 21-year teaching career (1987-2008) in the Abbotsford, Burnaby and Coquitlam teaching districts prior to her appointment to the Senate of Canada.