Meet Narima Dela Cruz, Top 25 Women of Influence+ Award Recipient

Since 2009, Narima Dela Cruz has been an influential community leader in Surrey, British Columbia, inspiring others to get involved and make a difference. In 2019, Narima and her group of volunteers from the Surrey Philippine Independence Day Society (SPIDS) successfully supported the motion that led to the official proclamation of June as Filipino Heritage Month in Canada.

In 2020, Narima was elected President of the Canadian Filipino National Congress. Over the next three years, she traveled across nine out of ten provinces, engaging with community groups and connecting with the nearly one million Filipinos in Canada. Narima’s contributions have garnered widespread recognition. In 2012, she became the second Filipino and the first Filipino woman in Canada to receive the prestigious Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Award. Seven years later, in 2019, she was named Pinoy of the Year at the Canada-wide Golden Balangay Awards. She then received the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award in 2023 and the King Charles Coronation Medal Award in 2024.

A licensed realtor by profession, Narima also works as a court interpreter and language translator. She is also an active volunteer and community partner with various charitable and not-for-profit organizations, including Canadian Red Cross, Canadian Blood Services, BC Transplant Society, Canadian Cancer Society of BC, and the Surrey Food Bank. Currently, she serves on the Advisory Committee of the Asian Studies Program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. 

Narima lives in Surrey, B.C., with her husband Joel, an engineer and Building Design Associate who manages his own business. They have two young adult children: Daryl, a well-known transportation advocate in BC, and Glisha, an audio-engineer and a multi-awarded singer/songwriter.