There is an oft-mentioned stereotype that the people of Canada are really, really nice. Whether it is one that bears semblance to reality is questionable, but if Janice Charette, the Canadian High Commissioner, is a reflection of the general Canadian population, perhaps it does carry some weight.

I am saying this because she does not bring attention to the fact I just looked her dead in the face and said: “thanks to meet you.” Internally, I am screaming. Did she notice? If she has not said anything, she did not notice... right? 

She almost definitely noticed.

Following the generalisation that all Canadians are nice, it strikes me as peculiar that, in the shadow of Trump’s protectionism, their government maintains a commitment to openness. Indeed, before 2006, the Canadian Conservative Party may have been the only right-leaning government to favour a points-based immigration system on the basis that it would challenge the ability to determine admission based on a person’s ethnicity. More currently, their Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau of the Liberal Party, is a self-declared “feminist” and appears as an antithesis to Trump.

A hateful wave of right-wing populism seems to be sweeping the West. Yet, with its commitment to diversity, Canada presents itself as immune. I ask the High Commissioner if she thinks this is accurate.

Noting that Canada is “populated by people from around the world”, she observes that the country’s diversity is an important factor. She explains that “who we are, and the country we’ve grown to be, takes the best of all of those societies and all of those people. How we’ve come together and how we’ve thrived as a people really is based on that model. It’s part of the Canada that I’m really proud of.”

Nonetheless, Charette strikes a cautionary note when she reminds me that Canada does not exist in a vacuum. Echoing a famous saying, she points out that “no country is an island”, before wittily imparting that “well, some countries are islands.”

“Having someone as your partner who’s willing to support you, and have confidence in you, makes a big difference”

“You’re not isolated or insulated from what’s going to happen globally,” she continues. “So when you think about what has led the American people to elect President Trump – whatever led the people of the UK to vote in favour of Brexit and leaving the European Union – each one of those has different dynamics underneath it. What we have to concentrate on, as Canada, is making sure that Prime Minister Trudeau very much has this in mind,” she expands.

The diversity of Canada’s government was not an accident, and Charette is clear about the importance of making an effort in this area: “A model that’s of inclusive, tolerant, respectful democracy? You can’t take any of that for granted. You really need to make sure that you reinforce it.”

In a world full of rhetoric about building walls and closing borders, Charette is keen to work out: “how can we open them up?” So I question how this translates into Canadian foreign policy. She explains that Trudeau’s policy of inclusive growth could be a “push-back to some of the forces of protectionism which would close countries down”.

Jonathan Bartley: ‘Having roots into the real world brings something to politics’

Her emphasis on tolerance being achieved and maintained reminds me that the Canadian government has not always been committed to diversity. In 1983, for example, the participation of women in executive ranks in Canada’s federal public service was at just five per cent. And, despite being one of few women in the sector when she joined in 1984, Charette has risen to its most senior position, demonstrating exceptional competency in navigating a field in which she was a minority.

I ask her what advice she would give to women who aspire to be as successful as she has been in the public sector. “Have confidence in yourself,” she tells me, “and go for the tough jobs. Don’t just go for the easy job, go for the jobs where it’s a significant challenge.”

I laugh as she adds, “and marry well”, seemingly as an afterthought. But this is not meant to be a joke. “I’m serious about that,” she clarifies. “Having someone as your partner who’s willing to support you, and have confidence in you, makes a big difference.” I ask her about her own relationship. “I have a husband. He was a stay-at-home dad with our two children, at a time when being a stay-at-home dad with two children was probably a little unusual. So I think some days were hard for him, sometimes, you know – he wanted to go to the coffee club and he wasn’t necessarily welcome at that. But that was the job that suited him best – taking care of our two amazing kids and being out in the workforce was what suited me best. I couldn’t have done it without him.”

“What we’ve seen is really strong women who are able to make really substantial contributions in the workplace, in leadership roles”

Since 1984, Charette has watched the participation of women in politics spike. I ask her what factors she thinks catalysed the change. “There were real efforts made to try to eliminate bias, to make sure that women are represented in hiring panels,” she tells me. “What we’ve seen is really strong women who are able to make really substantial contributions in the workplace, in leadership roles, doing a great job and so they were given big jobs to do. Actually, we didn’t need the programme-added measures much longer because what we saw was, you know, merit-based systems that were dealing with the promotion of women”. 

Indeed, Charette is quick to emphasise the importance of the support of Trudeau, who appointed a gender-balanced cabinet. “I think that leadership and demonstration of intent through his actions has really galvanised the public service to continue that focus,” Charette comments, highlighting the importance of setting examples for the rest of the world. 

But although Canada seems to be leading the way, Charette reminds me not to be complacent. She notes that, although “we’re doing very well on women in leadership roles, we have more progress to make in terms of visible minorities of both genders, of persons with disabilities as well. So celebrate – but don’t get too excited with yourself. There’s still a lot of progress to make.”

Charette echoed this in her speech to the Union Chamber later that evening, imploring the gathered crowd to recognise that there is “opportunity in times of change”. As she told students, “this is where you will make your difference”, her message was clear: we have a stake in the future