Honourable senators, I rise to recognize a noteworthy Canadian family residing in Vancouver, B.C.: Won-Chul, Ambrose, Choi; his wife Min Jeong, Matilda, Kim; and their two sons, Hyun Sik, Eric, and Young Sik, Alex, Choi.

Their immigrant story, from struggles and family separation to triumph and success, is one for the annals of Canadian history. It is a classic tale of young immigrant parents uprooting their lives to begin anew in Canada, and making sacrifices to enable their children to achieve academic success and give them opportunities to realize their dreams. In fact, Eric and Alex are both UBC graduates; Eric, after completing his master’s thesis in sports management at the Seoul National University, returned to Canada and established HS 7 Enterprise Limited, following in his father’s footsteps as a leading entrepreneur; and Alex currently works for a software company.

Honourable senators, this tribute to Ambrose and Matilda Choi is inspired by their indomitable entrepreneurial spirit, bright optimism, sincere generosity and deep love of country. It’s also in recognition of Ambrose being named by World OKTA as their Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency CEO of the year on September 21, 2020. World OKTA is an international organization comprised of chapters around the world, including Canada.

Ambrose Choi is president of Ambrose Holdings, a family-run business that exports Canadian products to Korea. Named after his beloved wife Matilda, his “made in Canada” brand of Matilda’s chocolates can be found in local stores in Canada and Korea. Together, the Choi family has generously supported their community through their annual Ambrose and Matilda charity concerts since 2014, which have raised funds to benefit hospital foundations, homeless shelters and various charitable organizations.

When the 2020 concert had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they thought of a way to pay it forward in a different way. They embarked on a multi-week journey to make special deliveries to Crossroads Hospice, Eagle Ridge Manor, Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation, St. Paul’s Foundation, Richmond Food Bank, Richmond Hospital Foundation, Peace Arch Hospital, Abbotsford Regional Hospital, Tri-City Transitions and Talitha Koum Society. They gifted health care and social workers, hospital staff and volunteers with boxes and boxes of exquisite Matilda’s chocolates as a gesture of thanks for their dedication on the front lines.

During Veterans’ Week, Matilda and Ambrose also coordinated a special concert at YVR, filling the international terminal of the airport with beautiful classical music for passing YVR staff and airline crews to enjoy. I enjoyed the concert at YVR myself and also witnessed the heartwarming presentation of Matilda’s chocolates to the hospital.

I will end with the words of Ambrose Choi, as he explains his inspiration:

As an immigrant, I am so grateful to Canada that I want to give back to the country that has given me so much.