Sarah Jama Biography, Age, and Career
Some people enter politics to build a career. Others enter it because they’ve been fighting for people their entire lives and politics just becomes the next battlefield. Sarah Jama falls into that second group. Long before she won a seat in the Ontario Legislative Assembly, she was already doing the hard, unglamorous work of disability rights activism in Hamilton, organizing encampments, testifying before Senate committees, and building networks that gave marginalized communities an actual voice.
Sarah Jama was born in 1994 or 1995 in Canada to Somali-Canadian parents. She was born with cerebral palsy and has used a walker and wheelchair for mobility throughout her life. Growing up, her mother played a central role in shaping her advocacy instincts, encouraging her to speak up for herself from as young as four years old. That early push to self-advocate became the foundation of everything she would later build.
She grew up in Etobicoke and later attended McMaster University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in social sciences with a focus on social psychology in 2017. After graduating, she settled in Hamilton rather than returning to where she grew up, and the city became the base for the work that would define her public life.
Career and Activism
Sarah Jama’s career is rooted in community organizing. She worked as a community engagement liaison for the City of Hamilton under Councillor Matthew Green and later became program coordinator at the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion. She has also worked as a keynote speaker, delivering close to a hundred talks on leadership, diversity, and justice.
In September 2018, she co-founded the Disability Justice Network of Ontario, an organization that became one of the most prominent advocacy groups for disabled people in the province. In February 2021, she testified before the Canadian Senate’s committee on legal and constitutional affairs, arguing against Bill C-7, which she said would make medically assisted death more accessible for people with mental health disabilities without first providing proper mental health support.
That same year, she co-founded the Hamilton Encampment Support Network, focused on helping unhoused people access safe accommodation. She was arrested in Hamilton during a protest against the demolition of homeless encampments. She was charged with assaulting a police officer and obstructing police, but the charges were dropped after she signed a peace bond.
In March 2023, she won a provincial by-election and became the Member of Provincial Parliament for Hamilton Centre under the NDP banner. Her time in caucus was short. In October 2023, the NDP expelled her after she refused to remove a pinned social media post describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as apartheid and settler colonialism. She continued serving as an independent MPP for the remainder of her term.
When the February 2025 Ontario general election came around, the NDP blocked her from running under their banner. She ran as an independent under the campaign slogan “Love, Compassion and Care” and lost her seat to NDP candidate Robin Lennox.
Awards and Recognition
CBC named her one of Hamilton’s top five most interesting people in 2016. In 2017, she received the Evelyn Myrie Political Action Award at the John Holland Awards and was nominated for a YWCA Women of Distinction award. In 2022, she received a community leadership award. Her work in disability justice has been recognized consistently throughout her career.
Personal Life
Sarah Jama is a Black, disabled, Somali-Canadian Muslim woman. She is single and has kept her personal life private, focusing her public presence entirely on advocacy and community work. She maintains active accounts on Instagram (@sarahjama_) and X (@SarahJama_) where she posts on disability rights, Palestinian solidarity, and political commentary.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Sarah Jama known for? She is known for disability rights activism and her time as MPP for Hamilton Centre from 2023 to 2025.
- Why was she expelled from the NDP? For refusing to remove a post describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as apartheid and settler colonialism.
- Did she win the 2025 Ontario election? No. She ran as an independent and lost to NDP candidate Robin Lennox.
- Does she have a husband or children? No publicly confirmed partner or children.
