David Peterson Public Leadership Program:The Honourable Christy Clark: (Not) One of the Boys

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The Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy is pleased to welcome The Honourable Christy Clark, former Premier of British Columbia on January 22, 2019.
This event is part of the Women in Leadership Series of the David Peterson Public Leadership Program.

Christy Clark’s political career is full of firsts for Canadian women. Her hard-won record includes being the longest serving female Premier in Canadian history, the only female Premier ever to be re-elected in Canada, and the first Cabinet Minister in Canada to give birth while holding office. She was also the first Premier in the country to openly discuss personal experiences of sexual assault.
Over her 6 ½ years as Premier, she defied the critics by proving herself as the best economic manager in the country. She balanced 5 consecutive balanced budgets, diversified BC’s economy with a visionary plan and ensured BC led the country in job creation. When she left office in 2017, the province had the strongest economy in Canada for more than one year running – the first time that’s happened since before she was born in 1965.
Her success was founded on her ability to create and communicate a bold vision for growth, her gift for building and executing on a detailed plan, and a strong capacity to predict, mitigate and manage risks.
When she retired, BC was on-track to eliminating its operating debt by 2020 – the first time since 1976. BC was also the only remaining Canadian province with a AAA credit rating.  
Prior to becoming Premier, she was the host of the Christy Clark Show on CKNW 980 and a columnist for the Vancouver Sun and Province newspapers. She used all these platforms to establish a province-wide anti bullying campaign that continues to grow.
Today she is a Senior Advisor at the internationally recognized law firm, Bennett Jones LLP. She also sits as a Board Director for Shaw Communications Inc., and for Recipe Unlimited Corporation. In addition, she serves as an Advisor for ThoughtWire Corp., an organization focused on advancing the Canadian tech sector. Recently she has also been appointed as an Associate Member for the InterAction Council. This is an international organization where former heads of state come together to find solutions to the political, economic and social problems of today’s world.
In November, 2018 she was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN). She was also inducted into the WXN Hall of Fame.
Clark is now also being credited for bringing the liquefied natural gas industry to British Columbia. LNG Canada just approved a $40B LNG project in Kitimat, British Columbia. This is the single largest private sector investment in Canadian history.