Paul Nguyen,
M.S.M., O.M.C.
Founder
webmaster@jane-finch.com
/
@directorpaul
 Paul
Nguyen is an award-winning activist and filmmaker from Toronto's
Jane-Finch area. In 2004, he created Jane-Finch.com to
change negative stereotypes about
his community. Within a short period, his grassroots project
became a
national success story.
Paul's impact is recognized by political and community leaders across Canada. He is a public speaker and media
commentator on
race, crime and youth issues.
In 2006, Paul served as the Associate Producer for CBC's The Fifth Estate following the lives
of gang-involved youth in the Gemini Award-nominated Lost
in the Struggle. He was the Associate
Producer for Global's Revealed: Missing the Target
(2010), CBC's Lost in the Struggle: The Next Chapter
(2012) and CBC's Year of the Gun
(2019).
In 2010, Canada's
Immigration Minister selected Paul to receive the $20,000 Paul Yuzyk Award for
his contributions to multiculturalism.
He is a recipient the City of Toronto's William P. Hubbard Award for
Race Relations, Heritage Toronto Award, Ontario Newcomer
Champion Award, and the Ontario
Medal for Good Citizenship.
In 2012, Paul was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond
Jubilee Medal by the Prime Minister and Governor General at
Rideau Hall for
'fighting stereotypes and acting as a role model and mentor for
at-risk youth'. In 2015, he
returned to Rideau Hall to receive the Meritorious
Service Medal. In 2017, Paul received the Governor General's
Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers. He is featured as a Noteworthy Canadian of
Asian Heritage by the Government of
Canada, and featured in the book 150 Extraordinary
Canadians.
Paul served on
York University’s Senate and was a member of the York University
Alumni Board from 2015 to 2024. He served as Vice-President of the Vietnamese Association of
Toronto from 2018-2019. He sits on the board of the National
Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada.
In 2018, he was recognized with Canada's
Volunteer Award.
In 2018 and 2019, he won back-to-back awards from the Canadian
Ethnic Media Association for his
stories in the ethnic press. In 2020, CBC Radio aired Rap Battle, an hour-long
feature about the journey of
Jane-Finch.com. In 2021, Paul received the Star Metroland Media Urban Hero Award.
In 2024, Paul co-produced What Jennifer Did,
the true crime phenomenon that became Netflix's most-watched documentary
movie of the year. In 2025, he received the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
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