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Hon. Linda Ann Loo

Hon. Linda Ann Loo


Reason for inclusion / First: First Chinese-Canadian woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia

Bio / Key facts: DOB - DOD, Place of Birth, Occupation: Linda Ann Loo was born in 1947 in Vancouver, British Columbia. She was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1975 and in 1996 became the first woman of Chinese descent to be appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Early years / Motivations: Linda Ann Loo was born in 1947 in Vancouver's east side. Her father was from feudal China and her mother was born in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Her family was subject to anti-Chinese racism from the predominately white population and the Canadian state. For example, petitions expressing concerns about decreasing property values were circulated when her family moved, in 1958, to Vancouver’s west side and discriminatory legislation existed that excluded Chinese-Canadians from many professions including law and medicine.

She enrolled as an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia and initially wanted to become a doctor. She decided on law after graduating (BA Anthropology and Psychology 1971) and wrote the LSAT which was newly instituted. She worked as a waitress to pay for her LLB and graduated from the University of British Columbia law school in 1974, one of the few women and Chinese graduates. After being called to the bar in 1975, she became in house counsel at British Columbia Hydro. From 1986-1996, she joined the litigation firm Singleton Urquhart first as an associate and later as a managing partner. As a civil litigator, she successfully argued a wrongful dismissal case before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Loo worked for several years as an ad hoc bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia and as a director of several community and volunteer organizations including the Vancouver Chinese Cultural Centre, the Trial Lawyers Association, Canadian Construction Women and the Vancouver Youth Theatre.

In 1993 she received her Queen’s Counsel appointment for her exceptional contributions to the legal profession.

Key accomplishments / contributions:. On 24 September 1996, at the age of 49, she became the first woman of Chinese descent to be appointed to the Supreme Court of B.C. When asked about her biggest achievement, she noted that it was watching her father at her swearing in ceremony, someone who came from feudal China with no rights at all and who migrated to Canada at a time when Chinese immigrants were still not granted the right to vote. Loo is quoted as saying “In {my father's} lifetime, we've gone from the Manchu dynasty to the courthouse on Smithe Street -- it's quite a leap.”

Later years / Present day: She currently serves on the British Columbia Supreme Court Bench alongside 109 of her fellow justices.

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