After a celebrated career in broadcast journalism, the Honourable Marci Ien made a bold leap into politics in 2020, becoming the MP for Toronto Centre and later serving as Canada’s Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth.

Prior to this, Marci spent decades as a trusted voice in Canadian media, beginning her career at CHCH-TV in Hamilton before joining CTV News in 1997. She was a fixture on Canada AM for 13 years as both a news anchor and co-host before joining The Social, Canada’s #1 daytime talk show. When the call to public service came in 2020, she answered — trading the talk show desk for a seat in the house of commons in the middle of a pandemic.

Marci’s five years in politics was a crash course in leadership, where she had to quickly learn how to rally support in a bipartisan environment, build trust with diverse stakeholders, and maintain team focus and momentum while navigating competing priorities. She recently joined us “Inside Our Boardroom“, where she explored her pillars of empathetic leadership, how to build bridges and restore trust and humanity in an era of division, and more.

Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

From Broadcasting to the House of Commons

Speakers Spotlight: What are some of your defining career moments in both journalism and politics?

The Hon. Marci Ien: I’ll start with journalism. It was Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes. I watched him as a kid, and he was a different kind of reporter. The kind that went into jail cells and interviewed people that were incarcerated but asked them questions with empathy. Then there was Brian Linehan on City Lights. I remember watching him and I don’t think there was one celebrity that didn’t say to him, “No one’s ever asked me that before.” And I respected the research. And then of course Oprah. I loved the idea of seeing this woman, this black woman, interview people and do things that no one had ever done before. So, at a very young age, I knew what I wanted to be. I just didn’t see a lot of people that looked like me doing what I wanted to be.

When it comes to politics, people ask me, “Well, did you always want to do that? Was that planned?” Absolutely not. But I think the best things happen when you don’t expect them, when you don’t plan for them. And that’s exactly what happened with politics. It was 2020. George Floyd had just been killed. There was so much turmoil in the world, and I started having these conversations with myself. Do I need to serve better? I was doing a talk show at the time that I loved but do I need to give more? Because it felt so heavy. Then this phone call came in from the prime minister’s office. And then the prime minister himself called, and I remember having that conversation with him and saying, “Well, you know how squeaky I am. I like to ask questions. I don’t know if I’m the voice you need.” And he said, “You absolutely are. The country needs your voice right now.”

I was 50 years old. I had kids that I wanted to spend more time with and along came an opportunity that decidedly wasn’t going to allow me to do that. But it was my daughter who said, “If not you, who?” So, I threw my hat into the ring and all of a sudden, I was in a by-election in the middle of COVID.

Hear more from Marci about her incredible leap from journalism to politics in the video below:

The Power of Listening

SpSp: What makes a good leader?

MI: Those who listen. Those who understand that they are not the be-all and end-all. My teams honestly were smarter than I was. They brought a lot of the skillsets I didn’t have and that’s what I loved about them, that they could teach me. It’s important for leaders not to be afraid of that. They need to assemble a team that is representative but that also has skillsets or parts of skillsets that they don’t, to complete that circle.

Also, it’s understanding that people want to be valued. So, looking for the good, looking for the positive, looking for the job well done and actually saying that goes a long way.

Marci explores her pillars of leadership in her keynote, “Listen, Learn, Act: How Empathetic Leadership Drives Impact”. She shares lessons learned on how to build trust, foster meaningful collaboration, rally support around shared goals, and drive results when stakes are high and time is limited. 

Finding Common Ground

SpSp: How do we stayed focused in times when it feels like the world is backsliding on core values?

MI: It’s such a good question. In 2020, we went through some very tough times — a lot of bad things happened, but a lot of good things happened too. The empathy that we had. I remember neighbours checking on neighbours. I remember people clanging pots and pans at 8:00 every evening to thank healthcare workers. There was a lot of loss, but there were a lot of good lessons too and a certain amount of humanity. And we’ve lost that in many ways.

When times are tough, and we’ve seen this throughout history, blame happens. Minorities get blamed, immigrants get blamed for everything that’s gone wrong. We’re seeing a lot of that now. We need to continue to speak up. A lot of the time it’s education as well. It’s people not actually knowing people or understanding that we are similar in so many ways, more than we’re different. And when people hear those stories and understand those stories, they act differently.

But there is this divisiveness that’s happening right now where it’s us against them. And my hope is that we, as a collective, take a step back and understand this is not the route to go and look to the south and really understand this is not the route to go. We’re in a time now where people are being vilified for just being who they are and it’s to our detriment. We have backslidden. When I think of 2020, it was terrible in so many ways, but the lessons and the empathy and the love that existed at that time isn’t here now. And we need to ask ourselves why and correct it quickly.

SpSp: How can we build bridges in this divisive time, especially with those who may not yet see the value in diversity?

MI: I always felt as women’s minister that I was speaking to the converted. I think it’s important to reach out to those who don’t share the same opinions as you because to stay in our shell and speak to those who believe what we believe isn’t going to move anything forward.

When I was in government, some of my most important work on gender-based violence and queer rights was done hand-in-hand with people that were from different political parties. I felt it was important to find common ground. It’s the only way things get done. Those who seek to divide love when we’re divided and not talking. And it might be Pollyanna of me, but I do still believe that inherently we’re good. Things might happen that damage us or change us or the way we think, but inherently we’re good.

So, reaching out and bringing others into the fold that may not understand or believe what we believe is important. It’s also important to learn from them and listen and understand where they come from. If we all did more listening, we’d be a lot further ahead.

Building Trust in an Age of Misinformation

SpSp: How do we navigate a world where trust is strained?

MI:  The problem is people don’t know what to trust and who to trust because there’s so many falsehoods. Social media has been a huge part of that. You don’t know what’s real.

I remember years ago there was this video of Nancy Pelosi, and she appeared to be drunk and was in office at the time. People that knew her said she doesn’t drink, and we found out that it was completely fabricated. It was some AI-generated thing, but everybody believed it.

So, this starts at home. This starts with young people. It starts with having conversations with your kids and making sure that they’re equipped to ask questions and fact check. My kids know how to fact check. They know to ask questions; they know how to find sources to make sure that what they’re seeing is true. I always say, look for three reputable sources. What are they saying about whatever you’re reading or saying right now? It’s important that kids are equipped and asking questions. Curiosity is so important. And if all of that happens, then you build a level of trust.

Hire the Hon. Marci Ien to Speak at Your Next Event

Marci’s keynotes draw on her unique journey from broadcast journalism to the halls of Parliament, offering audiences a powerful roadmap for leading with empathy, embracing the unexpected, and driving meaningful change.

Contact us to learn more about Marci and how to book her for your next event.