What does being Canadian mean to you?
Being Canadian means being more thoughtful and intelligent about choices that we make. We tend to be more considerate. We don’t run our country based only on emotions. Every day, I thank fortune that I was born in this country. None of us can take for granted the gift of being born in this country. Canada values immigrants and diversity. When I travel, it’s very important for me that everyone knows I am from Canada.
Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.
I was the founder and CEO of NCompass, a technology start-up, and we rode the Internet bubble. In the midst of raising our mezzanine round of financing, the first tremors of the bubble hit. We watched the ground shift under our feet. I was getting ready to lay off multiple people and I wasn’t sleeping at night. It took a lot of courage not to say, “I can’t do this anymore.” I couldn’t just hand it over to our investors to parachute out. We persisted and it turned out to be a great move. Microsoft ultimately purchased the company.
When do you feel most powerful?
When I can see the ideas that I’ve given thought, time, and attention to come to life. One of my favourite things is building world-class teams and sending the teams out into the world to create something, win something, or accomplish something.
What advice would you give to young women entrepreneurs?
Take advantage of the many resources that are available. Get as many mentors as you can, both men and women. It’s really important to have men as champions.
If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?
“GOFORIT.”
Victoria Sopik
“I don’t take for granted how lucky and grateful I am to live in this amazing country and to be Canadian!”
Birthplace Toronto, ON
What age do you feel 20
Occupation CEO and co-founder, Kids & Company
Book you gift most Good to Great by Jim Collins
Favourite drink Diet Coke
Favourite place in Canada Toronto
If you could have dinner with any woman, alive or dead, who would it be?
Hillary Rodham Clinton. She has remarkable staying power. “Resist, Insist, Persist, Enlist.” Hillary is also a strong and powerful supporter of children and established the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides coverage for over eight million children. As Hillary has stated, “One of the best investments we can make as a nation is to give our kids the ingredients they need to develop in the first five years of their life.”
If you were to write a book, what would its title be?
Thriving in Chaos.
What message would you put on a billboard, and where?
A picture of a young woman with the caption “You ARE Enough” displayed in very high-traffic locations.
If you had the gift of a year off, in a paused world, what would you work on?
I’m very passionate about children and babies! I just love babies! So I would assist in some of the developing countries where the infant mortality rate is too high. Something needs to be done to support women and families with family planning and education. One woman dies every two minutes from mostly preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
What does being Canadian mean to you?
It means that I’m able to be a successful business owner with no limits and no extra challenges (or few) because I’m a woman. It means that I live in a country that supports entrepreneurship and provides opportunities to meet like-minded men and women. I don’t take for granted how lucky and grateful I am to live in this amazing country!
Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.
It was starting Kids & Company from scratch. We had no special financing, no special corporate connections, no staff, and no track record. My partner and I didn’t acquire our business. We started and grew it organically, one child and family at a time.
What is your vision for Canada in twenty years?
To be even better, safer, more inclusive, and stronger than it is now!
If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?
“Thrive.”
Janice Stein
“Success is what my students do: how they contribute, how they push new ideas forward, and how they make change.”
Birthplace Montreal, QC
What age do you feel 70 in my body, 40 in my head, 30 in spirit
Occupation Professor, public educator
Book you gift most Right now, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
Favourite drink Campari on the rocks with a twist of lemon
Favourite place in Canada Cabot Trail, NS
How has your view of feminism changed over your lifetime?
It has evolved significantly; the challenges are much more complex and much more stubborn than I thought when I was younger. It is about a deep acceptance and respect across all genders. It is about leaving stereotypes behind—and that is so difficult to do—and finding what is both human and distinctive in all of us.
What will it take to achieve gender parity?
I am not sure that this is the right objective because it traps us in a process of metrics and counting, which can be pernicious. The goal surely ought to be to liberate all of us to be, as the story says, our very best selves. It is about pushing aside obstacles, tearing down barriers, and opening doors. If we keep on doing that, we won’t need to count.
If you had the gift of a year off, in a paused world, what would you work on?
I would try to understand how to enable political and social innovators while still protecting society against deep risk. We face a paradox. We desperately need our political and civic leaders to loosen the reins, to enable innovators, and to provide some safe spaces for those with new ideas about how to make government work better for citizens in the twenty-first century. At the same time, we are unforgiving of the slightest mistake governments make. We have put our leaders in a box because trust has broken down.
Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently when you were first starting out?
I would have looked much earlier for terrific mentors and spent much more time than I have mentoring young people.
What message would you put on a billboard?
“Think small. Every step matters.”
What is your vision for Canada in twenty years?
Canada will continue to be inclusive and civil, but less deferential and more willing to take smart risks. The young people in Canada today will make that happen.
If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?
“Endure.”
Ratana Stephens
“Success is a tall ladder. You must have the strength to keep climbing, despite obstacles you will inevitably face.”
Birthplace India
Occupation Co-founder and co-CEO of Nature’s Path Foods
Book you gift most Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Favourite drink Lemon-ginger-honey tea
Favourite place in Canada Tofino, BC, Lake Louise, AB, and the beautiful farmland (and people) of Saskatchewan
What does Canada need more and less of?
I’d like to see Canada continue the course it charted many moons ago. To be peacekeepers on a world stage. To be less dependent on natural resources and more involved in the creation of renewable resources. I’d like to see more organic agriculture resulting in less pollution of our bodies and the environment.
If you could have dinner with any woman, alive or dead, who would it be?
Mother Teresa, simply to hear her story in her own words. What a gift it would be to learn about what inspired and drove her to provide “wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor” and whether she felt fulfilled after such a life well lived.
Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.
Imagine. It is 1969 and a young woman has just moved to Canada. Sh
e is a new bride. She is demure. She is apprehensive and scared. She is in a new culture, dressed in a sari. She is working in a restaurant making $1 an hour. She wishes to upgrade her education and is told instead to go back home and raise her family. Imagine. Forty-seven years later, that same woman is now the co-CEO and co-founder of North America’s largest organic breakfast foods company—with products sold in over fifty countries worldwide.
What message would you put on a billboard, and where?
I would put “Leave the Earth better than you found it” in city centres throughout the world.
If you were to write a book, what would its title be?
From Personal Passion to Mainstream Trend: How One Couple Brought Organic Food to the Masses.
How has your view of feminism changed over your lifetime?
I have always been a bit of a rebel. Despite being raised in a society where women were expected to be subservient, I never thought of myself, or other women, as inferior. If we can embrace people’s special talents and abilities, then we may be able to uncover otherwise suppressed resources.
If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?
“Love.”
Angela Sterritt
“I would love for non-Indigenous people to know [our] stories of resilience, strength, and incredible survival.”
Birthplace Campbell River, BC
What age do you feel It fluctuates between my twenties and my eighties
Occupation Journalist, writer, and assistant professor of journalism
Book you gift most Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson
Favourite drink Red wine
Favourite place in Canada Vancouver
What message would you put on a billboard?
“You are loved and we believe you.” Not just “We believe in you.” When you share your experiences, whether they’re about sexual assault or abuse in the home, someone believes your truth. It’s huge for me; no one believed Indigenous people about residential schools for so many years because it was so hidden, and now people are saying, “We believe you now.” How long did people have to suffer for others not believing them?
What do you hope for Canada?
I hear elders saying that we need truth telling and hearing those stories before we can reconcile, and that makes sense to me. I want people to understand what happened to Indigenous people but also to really engage in some of the outstanding issues, whether it be about land or stories from elders. I want people to hear how strong the elders are. I would love for non-Indigenous people to know those stories of resilience, strength, and incredible survival. Tackling social issues like racism and being able to see Indigenous people in the way that we see each other.
I want to see journalism done in a factual, accurate way. Not reporting on the stereotypes, but reporting with accuracy about Indigenous people and understanding communities more. I would like to see more strength-based relationships with Indigenous people moving forward, so we can have more ways to be citizens in this country.
What has been a defining moment in your personal or professional life?
Having my son instantly changed my focus and my energy. When Namawam was four months old, I got a call about this new CBC TV show that was happening. That changed not just my career but the entire shape of media and how we view Indigenous stories. It was the first time that I saw stereotypes being broken. It was the first time I felt that Indigenous people were accurately portrayed. It was the first time notions like “Why can’t they pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get it together?” were challenged. It was the first time you saw so many different Indigenous people represented on TV. Not just the chief or the professor, but the mom, the gangster, the high school teacher, the mechanic. You saw all these different viewpoints.
From there, I ended up in the Northwest Territories, and going from Vancouver to a small northern town was very challenging for me. That changed my respect within the media community among Indigenous reporters and Indigenous people just because there are so many Indigenous stories up there. There’s no national reporter, so I was doing live national hits from Yellowknife on the missing and murdered Indigenous women, or the First Nations Financial Transparency Act. Being up there changed my career and humbled me a lot.
How has your view of feminism changed over your lifetime?
A few years ago, a woman challenged me by saying, “If feminism is about equality, and all those things that you do are fighting for equality, are you against that?” It really flipped a light switch on in my head; it was ridiculous for me to say I wasn’t a feminist. The reason I said I wasn’t at the time was that I was looking at first-wave and second-wave feminism and how those very white women didn’t take into account different aspects of culture. Sometimes our cultures have very specific gender roles for various reasons. One thing that I’ve learned from Indigenous women leaders before me is that things have changed drastically because of colonization. Things like matrimonial property rights are still outstanding issues in the Indian Act.
If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?
“Compassion.”
Belinda Stronach
“In a male-dominated industry, I learned not to be afraid of my own voice and the power of it.”
Birthplace Newmarket, ON
What age do you feel I don’t think about it... so, ageless, I guess
Occupation Chairman and President, The Stronach Group, and Chairman, Acasta Capital
Book you gift most The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
Favourite drink Matcha green tea latte or vodka martini with a twist
If you could have dinner with any woman, alive or dead, who would it be?
A woman I have long admired and respected is Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was the first elected female head of state in Africa. She is a freedom fighter, women’s rights activist, rebel, Nobel Prize winner, mother, grandmother, and a true leader who is unapologetic about her success and her failures.
What do you think it will take to achieve gender parity?
In 2006, as a Member of Parliament representing Newmarket and Aurora, I chaired the Liberal Women’s Caucus and oversaw the development of the Pink Book. The Pink Book was designed as a framework of recommendations to address the issues affecting girls and women across Canada. Gender parity was one of the issues of high priority then, and one that continues to this day. While we have made strides in certain areas, there is still much work to be done. I fundamentally believe in the equality of pay, equal representation of women in leadership roles, and the need for greater access to services that support girls and women. Globally, we need to continue to fight for the empowerment of girls and women, access to basic education, the elimination of child marriage, and the recognition of basic property rights. Women are a force for social and economic change and it is the responsibility of governments, the private sector, and all men and women to recognize this, not just in principle but also in practice.
If you had the gift of a year off, in a paused world, what would you work on?
Why wish for a time to make change when we all have the ability to make change right now? I have been involved in a number of philanthropic and social projects and have witnessed how small steps can effect major change.
In 2007, I founded Spread the Net with my friend Rick Mercer. It’s a campaign to provide $10 anti-malarial bed nets to children in sub-Saharan Africa (now run by Plan Canada). Thanks to thousands of young people across Canada, who donated just $10 at a time, Spread the Net has protected the lives of over 32 million people by delivering 15.3 million bed nets. Through the Belinda Stronach Foundation, we have incubated and supported a wide range of programs that continue to make an impact at home and abroad. The first G(irls)20 Summit was held in Toronto in 2010 and continues to be held annually. We support the work of OLPC Canada, a program that provides education technology for Indigenous youth, and Belinda’s Place, which provides support for women who are homeless
or at risk of homelessness in York Region. Each one of these programs is proof that making a difference does not require grand gestures; it requires a simple commitment from an individual, community, or organization to just do something.
Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.
In 2007, I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 42. Receiving that kind of news, as any cancer survivor will tell you, stops you in your tracks. It forced me to evaluate my priorities in a way that I never had before and to become an advocate for my own health. As a private person living in the public eye at the time, it was very difficult and I faced many criticisms for the choices I made, but in the end I did what was right for me. Today I am strong, healthy, and happy.
What is the best investment you’ve made?
This will sound cliché, but it is the investment in my health and well-being.
What does being Canadian mean to you?
I’m proud to be Canadian. We care about people. We care about fairness. We care about advancing causes of human rights and social and economic justice, not only here at home but around the world.
If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?
I have one! The letter “B,” in beautiful script, is tattooed on the back of my neck! My close friends and family call me “B.”
Shannon Susko
“My core purpose has always been about growing people.”
Birthplace Halifax, NS
Canada 150 Women_Conversations with Leaders, Champions, and Luminaries Page 24