Story |Connie Li Photography | Hua Cai Awards
What began as a community tribute in a time of crisis has evolved into one of Canada’s most meaningful multicultural honours. The Hua Cai Awards, launched during the pandemic to inspire resilience and unity, has now become a national celebration of excellence across cultures.
The winners of the 2025 Hua Cai Awards and the award presenters.
Earlier this year, the 2025 ceremony drew wide acclaim from across communities and even mainstream audiences. Held at the TIFF Lightbox in downtown Toronto, the event honoured 18 individuals and organizations across eight award categories, but it was the “Person of the Year” award that captured the most attention.
That honour went to Dr. Donette Chin-Loy Chang, a celebrated communications strategist, philanthropist and public servant, whose four-decade career spans education, healthcare, the arts and social justice. As the sixth Chancellor of Toronto Metropolitan University, and a long-standing voice for equity and cross-cultural understanding, Dr. Chin-Loy Chang represents the spirit of the award in every sense.
Dr. Vivienne Poy (right) presents the 2025 Hua Cai Person of the Year Award to Dr. Chin-Loy Chang.
“I am humbled by this recognition,” she said. “The honour from the Asian community—one of the communities I belong to, alongside the Caribbean and Black communities—is deeply meaningful. In accepting it, I honour the ancestors on whose shoulders I stand.”
Born to Jamaican roots with Asian heritage, Dr. Chin-Loy Chang continues to serve on boards, including TIFF, the BlackNorth Initiative and TMU’s Anti-Asian Racism Taskforce. Her work bridges communities, geographies and generations.
Announcing the 2026 Honouree
As the legacy of the Hua Cai Awards grows, so too does its reach. The Hua Cai Awards Committee recently announced Wes Hall, prominent entrepreneur and star investor on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, as the 2026 “Person of the Year.”
The Hua Cai Awards 2026 “Person of the Year” Wes Hall (Photo from University of Toronto Magazine website).
Dr. Chin-Loy Chang welcomed the news with enthusiastic praise, saying: “Wes Hall is an excellent choice. He is one of Canada’s most respected business leaders, a philanthropist and a humanitarian. He and his family care deeply about their communities and have already made a lasting impact.”
She pointed to Hall’s founding of the BlackNorth Initiative in the wake of George Floyd’s death as a watershed moment. “His dream was to ensure that Black, Indigenous and people of colour could gain access to the C suite of corporations in Canada.” Today, Hall is also the Chancellor of the University of Toronto and continues to open doors for others.
The 2026 Hua Cai Awards press conference was held at the Xinflix Media Auditorium earlier this year.Community leaders and supporters show their support.
(Left to right)Patrick Hung, CEO of Xinflix Media Group; Anson Wong, CEO of Sing Tao Media Group Canada; and Justin Poy, founder of The Justin Poy Agency, at the 2026 Hua Cai Awards press conference.
The 2026 awards ceremony, jointly organized by Xinflix Media Group, Sing Tao Media Group and , will take place on Jan. 24, 2026. Fourteen additional honourees are currently being selected.
The Power of Role Models
Justin Poy, co-chair of the Hua Cai Awards and founder of The Justin Poy Agency, reflected on how the awards began with a single mission—to spotlight excellence in a time of collective hardship.
“Resilience has always been central to the Hua Cai story,” says Poy. “We honour those who rise, those whose stories bring hope and those whose accomplishments break barriers and build bridges.”
TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey delivers a speech at the 2025 awards ceremony.
Renowned Global News anchor Miranda Anthistle hosts the 2025 awards ceremony.
Guests and award winners engage in lively conversation at the 2025 awards ceremony.
And those bridges now extend far beyond the Chinese community. The 2025 event featured a distinguished lineup of presenters, including Canada’s first Asian senator, the Hon. Dr. Vivienne Poy, as well as MP Paul Chiang, former Senator Victor oh, Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti and TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey.
Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti at the event.
Guests from different communities gather in celebration.
Momentum for the Future
In 2026, a new award will be introduced: The Momentum Award. Uniquely, it will be nominated by the previous year’s Person of the Year. Dr. Chin-Loy Chang will put forward three emerging figures who may not yet be household names, but who carry the generational momentum of mentors, parents and grandparents, and exemplify dedication, perseverance and vision.
Entrepreneur Gavin Barrett (center) is the winner of the 2025 Leadership in Canadian Business Award.
Veteran journalist James Lin receives the 2025 Community Harmony and Diversity Award.
“The winner will be chosen from these three,” explained Poy. “It’s about legacy in motion—spotlighting those who are building their own path with inherited strength.”
Dr. Chin-Loy Chang had a message for the next generation: “I know the past few years have been tough. But don’t let that make you cynical. You are the hope we hold on to. Every one of you is capable of rising. You just need the opportunity and the will. In these fast-changing, often turbulent times, we need your brilliance more than ever.”
A Cultural Shift
Moving the 2025 ceremony to the TIFF Lightbox signalled more than a venue change. It marked the award’s transformation from a community-based celebration to a national showcase of multicultural excellence. But the shift wasn’t without its hurdles.
“It was a real culture clash,” admitted Poy, with a laugh. “We’d always done the ceremony within the Chinese Canadian community. Bringing it to TIFF meant we had to learn fast, adapt quickly and rise to a whole new level of production.”
But it was worth it. The move made a powerful statement: that stories rooted in Chinese Canadian identity could and should take centre stage in Canada’s broader cultural conversation.
Poy has bold plans for the future, saying. “I want the Hua Cai Awards to be Canada’s version of the oscars—big, inclusive and built to last.”
Dr. Chin-Loy Chang echoed that sentiment in her remarks: “As a practitioner and communications specialist, I’ve always believed in seeking truth and giving voice to it. I would hope that my community would take examples from this and I, from members of this vast and dynamic community.”
That sense of shared strength is the soul of the Hua Cai Awards—a celebration not just of achievement, but of resilience, cultural connection and the bridges we build between communities.
