The interns had the privilege and honour to meet with Ambassador Bob Rae, who had insights to offer from an illustrious career in federal, provincial, and international politics. Our meeting with Ambassador Rae was highly anticipated by the interns who had many questions about his experiences.
Joining us from his office in the UN Headquarters in New York, Ambassador Rae reflected on his time as the 21st Premier of Ontario. Considering that Mr. Rae had spent most of his childhood outside of Canada, his time in provincial politics allowed him to get an in-depth understanding of Ontario. We had many questions about Ambassador Rae’s decision-making processes, his thoughts on social policy, and his approach to negotiations during his time as Premier, and how these had impacted his later career. It was very insightful to learn from Mr. Rae that his role presented many challenges and that even today, he continues to draw from his experiences as Premier to navigate his current role.
In discussing his current role as Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Mr. Rae noted that he felt quite honoured to have been given this position as this allows him to follow in the footsteps of his late father, who had also been Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations.
When we asked Ambassador Rae to speak on what he thinks are the attributes of a leader, he noted that a good leader is unafraid to face challenges and face failure. Mr. Rae’s thoughts on failure left a great impact on all of us: he stated that failure is an event, not a character trait. This is something that we will carry with us through our time as interns and beyond, as we will all undoubtedly face challenges and failure at some point in our careers. We will remember to embrace these hurdles as opportunities for growth.
We want to thank Ambassador Rae for the candid conversation and the wisdom he imparted on us all. We are so thrilled to have his continued support of the program and we thank him for his time.