Premier Susan Holt is making history in New Brunswick – and she credits many of her leadership skills to her time at Queen’s.
Susan Holt, Artsci’99 (Chemistry), Artsci’00 (Economics), knows that her early years in Fredericton offered a solid foundation to build on as she studied, travelled, and worked outside New Brunswick. That journey started at Queen’s before taking her to Australia and India and then back to Canada. An interest in politics that began at Queen’s saw her stand for election in New Brunswick in 2018. While initially unsuccessful, she won the Liberal leadership four years later and took her seat in the legislature. On Nov. 2, 2024, she became the province’s first woman premier.
Let’s start with growing up in a small city – how did that shape your worldview?
I didn’t know Fredericton was a small city when I was growing up here. It had everything that we needed or could imagine as kids, and even more than that, so it wasn’t until the first time I visited somewhere like Toronto or other places that we were like, “Oh, OK, home is smaller than this.” There wasn’t much that we thought we were missing out on because Fredericton is an exceptional place to grow up and live.
How do jobs like scooping ice cream help you as premier?
I think it’s really helpful to have experienced lots of different facets of life and our economy and working some of those service jobs, particularly scooping ice cream for the whole town in the summers, ringing in groceries, serving in hospitality in Kingston, Ont. The more different things you do, I think the more it gives you a chance to at least be able to relate and understand the different realities that New Brunswickers live.
What made you choose Queen’s rather than a university closer to home?
When I was done with high school, I wanted to go sort of far away from home and be independent and Queen’s is one of the best schools in the country. So, when they finally accepted me at the last minute, I absolutely said yes. The experience that I had in residence through orientation and academically, and then more particularly my extracurricular involvement with orientation and with the Alma Mater Society and all the student businesses gave me a chance to work, to lead, and to build skills, but within the context of an academic environment.
Why did you make the jump from studying chemistry to economics?
Back in the 1990s, they pushed women into science and engineering. If you were the sort of kid who did well in high school, they really encouraged us that way. I loved chemistry in high school and I thought it was fascinating. I still have a periodic table sitting on my desk. I had an economics class at the time of an Ontario election and a lot of the principles we were talking about were showing up in the election debates and conversations. I had always been into politics and felt that what I was learning was really relevant. So, I explored taking an economics degree and switched over.
“Politics unusual for me is getting out of the office and on the ground working at the grassroots level in a really authentic and vulnerable way.”
Do you have any other experiences outside New Brunswick that influenced you?
After I graduated, I travelled around a little bit through Australia and Thailand before starting my first job in Toronto – I lasted about a year selling photocopiers. I moved to Australia and the job I was doing there offered an opportunity to go to India and do some really interesting work, so I moved to India to help Manpower turn its Indian operations into a standalone entity. My time in Australia, India, Toronto, and Ottawa have all informed different pieces of my understanding of people and the world.
You have a pretty ambitious agenda. How will you make choices and what things do you think need to be done immediately?
Well, that’s what government is all about: making choices. I’ve had the chance to learn over time that you’ve got to focus on a few things if you really want to move the needle a significant amount. It won’t surprise you to hear that people want access to health care that is reliable and close to home and there when they need it. I’m looking to Queen’s because it had Dr. Jane Philpott there advancing her views on primary care and patient medical homes.
Can you talk about your idea of “politics unusual?”
I think we need some radical candour in our politics. I think there’s been a decline in trust across society, across segments of society, and the onus to rebuild trust in government lies at the feet of politicians. Politics unusual for me is getting out of the office and on the ground, working at the grassroots level in a really authentic and vulnerable way to help build trust that has been declining.
Many women leave or avoid politics due to the toxic environment for them. How can we lower the temperature?
It was certainly something I thought about when I was deciding to enter the leadership race and something I talked about with friends and family, but I will say that I have not experienced the kind of toxicity that I’ve seen in other places. We’re a small province, we’re all neighbours, and I’m very grateful that my experience has been mostly positive to date. I know there are harder days to come, and it has been challenging to recruit women to be candidates for us.
What message does being New Brunswick’s first woman premier send to young women, including your daughters?
I can go back to what it felt like for me when I saw it happen with other women. I remember distinctly Alexa McDonough becoming a leader in Canadian politics and breaking a glass ceiling and what that felt like for me as a young girl who thought, “Well, maybe I could go into politics.” And New Brunswick is late to the game in this particular achievement but, thankfully, young girls have lots of people to look up to in Angela Merkel, Jacinda Ardern, Kathleen Wynne, and Rachel Notley.
