About Sportspersonship
…winning doesn’t always mean winning medals.
I may not have won over most of the old boys club, but I had built a new girls club
About public speaking
… if you want to make an impact and bring people with you, trust your gut, deliver a succinct, clear message, and speak from your heart.
I used every ounce of energy I had to stay calm, keep my voice even and low, and speak slowly. I knew that to pull this off, I couldn’t sound angry or upset. When you’re a woman in politics, you learn that if you don’t do that, you’ll be seen as emotional-or worse, “shrill.”
About COP21
The French government awarded Catherine McKenna the Légion d’honneur for her work on the Paris Agreement
We were also working to include language in the agreement that recognized Indigenous rights and Indigenous traditional knowledge. I worked closely with our Indigenous leaders from Canada and Indigenous peoples from around the world to make this happen. Although it would have been much better to have this text in the body of the final agreement, we were all happy to see it in the preamble.
Canada’s greatest success, however, and something I am still very proud of, is the role we played in negotiating Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which set out the principles for countries to voluntarily cooperate to reach their climate goals including through carbon markets.
About Politics
Anyone who wants to go into politics, especially women, shouldn’t have to put up with constant abuse.
Hard things are hard
Following rules blindly has never been my style.… I made a promise to myself that I was going to do it my way. I was going to run like a girl.
…diverse teams make better decisions because they take into account different viewpoints and lived experiences.
…he (Prime Minister) inadvertently undermined the accomplishments of the incredible women who earned their positions based on merit. No one in Cabinet was there simply to “fill a quote.” We were there because we were qualified, experienced and ready to serve.
We don’t need to have all the skills of an experienced politician to run for office. In fact, it can be an advantage. And trust me, you’ll also learn as you go.
The worst for me was looking up at the gallery and seeing kids who were on a school trip. They saw members of Parliament screaming and yelling at each other. If we want the next generation to believe in politics, the least we can do is not make it look like a train wreck.
The truth is, all governments are messy. Progress is rarely linear. But public pressure works. So keep fighting.
…good ideas are good ideas, no matter what side of political spectrum they come from.
Liberals, I’m sorry to say, have a tendency to talk down to people, to act like they know what’s best for them.
Where there is no vision, the people perish.
Peace Tower of the Parliament
About Coach Byron MacDonald
It’s not just about recruiting talented people. As a leader, you are responsible for fostering team spirit and making sure that members feel part of something bigger than themselves. Building pride and unity as a team, inspiring people to do the hardest things and to be in position to win-none of that can be delegated.
World Leaders
Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.
Former Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau
We’re not here for power. We’re not here for fame or fortune. We’re here for our kids. We’re here for everybody’s kids-to give our sons and our daughters a better world.
Former President of United States, Barack Obama
…les Canadiens sont raisonnables. Soyez raisonnable!
Former Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chrétien
If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever
Former Prime Minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney
About Leadership
…when you choose to live on your terms, stop trying to meet everyone else’s expectations and dare to get messy, the world opens up in ways you can’t predict.
Because here’s the thing: most women have more skills than they know. We’ve been involved in our communities. We’ve organized people and events. We understand issues, often from a very practical perspective gained from spending a lot of time with teachers, doctors, nurses and many other people and systems as we support our kids and aging parents. We have our own networks of friends, neighbours and family. And women know how to work hard. If you’re nodding your head, then you already have a lot of the skills needed to be a great candidate.
Contemporology 