The OLIP Interns had the honour of meeting with former Premier Kathleen Wynne. She was kind enough to come down to the Whitney Block before teaching her class at UofT, to talk about her passion for provincial politics and her hope for the future of democracy.
Wynne highlighted that she became interested in politics because of her passion for education and making education as best as possible for all students. She has worked as the Minister of Education, Minister of Transportation, and as a backbencher for Don Valley West. Education has always been her “dream job” but she enjoyed how all the roles allowed her to learn transferable skills and advocate for her community. Although she never intended on becoming Premier when she first entered politics, she highlighted that she was grateful for the experience to make province-wide change, and the opportunity to exemplify that women and queer people belong in politics. Wynne remains invested in Ontario’s politics even though she has left office. She told us that even though she is no longer at Queen’s Park it is impossible for her not to stay in tune with political news and she continues to learn and advocate in her role as Professor at UofT. We admired her ability to come back to Queen’s Park after losing the 2018 election as a member of a very small liberal caucus. “I was elected by the people of Don Valley West, so it is my job to represent them.” Her bravery in the face of a changing government and public opinion was a good reminder to us interns that we can make difficult choices, even when they’re unpopular.
Thank you to Ms Wynne for your candor about your time in politics and for showing us your passion for improving Ontario. We appreciate your optimism and your hope that in the future we will learn to listen to each other and have meaningful conversations.
