“Keep trying. If you don't think that you can be in a space that you want to be, or people tell you that it's not for you, just keep trying, because who are they to tell you that it's not for you? I never thought I would be in corporate at this level and leading this file in a construction company, an Indigenous woman with lived experience…12 year old me would never have thought I would be here or have these opportunities,” encourages Jennifer Campeau. She is from Anishinaabe from Yellow Quill First Nation and has Metis roots in the Red River area and she’s the Vice President of Indigenous Relations at Aecon Construction Group. She joined the company a year ago. 

As far as her education, she attempted school three times. Campeau dropped out when her daughter was a baby, returning to nursing school when she was a toddler but leaving in her second year clinical rotation due to her queasiness. She went to work in the states but came back to finish her education. Campeau did a two year business diploma at Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology in Saskatoon, and the next two years at University of Lethbridge in Alberta for their First Nations Governance program. She planned to be an accountant but was encouraged to consider law school. She studied for the GMAT and the LSAT and did better on the GMAT. Campeau completed the MBA program at the University of Saskatchewan while working for the Saskatoon Tribal Council, delivering financial literacy programming. 

She went on to a PhD program in Native Studies at the University of Saskatchewan while working in community. Campeau taught at the business school and in the political science department. She was challenged to participate in an election and won her seat, so she withdrew from school to focus on her duties as an elected official, intending to return eventually.

Six busy years passed as she served as an MLA and cabinet minister. She also had legislative secretarial duties in the educational realm. She traveled to represent the provinces and the country, hosted by mining companies in Western Australia. Campeau ended up leaving politics and getting to work for one in northern BC until becoming a grandmother shifted her priorities. She moved to Toronto to lead Indigenous strategy for George Brown College before joining Rogers Communications and working on the highway 16 project and the Highway of Tears, closing the communications gap. Campeau loves infrastructure development, joint ventures and capacity development with commitment to community.

Campeau loves the variety in her work. “I'm never in one place for very long, and that's how I work best. I've been so used to doing many things at once, and having a lot of balls up in the air and because of the five different business lines and the relationships and all of the different projects across Canada as well as into the US, it really keeps things interesting. There's a lot to be proud of in the work that we do and the relationships and partnerships we have,” she explains.

She’s happy now, but she faced many obstacles along the way. Coming from a community with few economic opportunities, she’s the fourth generation to attend residential school. Campeau later went to a city high school and dropped out. Marrying young and moving to the states, far from family, she had a daughter and became a single parent. She moved home so her daughter could know her family, culture and ceremony. Later, Campeau was often the only Indigenous person in her business courses and found her values didn’t always align with her MBA program. The opportunity to travel to India and England opened her eyes to the struggles of other communities like hers around the world. “I think that international experience is really what helped me be brave in some situations,” she reflects. She also credits mentorship she received for encouraging her to take bigger chances.

Her advice for youth to keep up with their studies is to create a plan. She also learned to integrate her community values in her education. “Do what you say you're going to do and you're not there by yourself. You're not going through this alone. We carry with us that blood memory of our ancestors and those who've come before us,” she offers.

When frustrated in her MBA program and wanting to quit, she remembered everyone she would disappoint if she gave up. Now, Campeau thinks about the legacy she wants to leave for her grandson.  “We're always looking at finding ways for our children to be in a better place than we were… We're pretty resilient people. We get back up and we keep trying. Realizing that we need that fear and that fear of failure to keep driving us, and if we fail, we can just keep trying,” she imparts.

To keep her mental health in check, Campeau goes home to participate in ceremony every summer and stays connected to culture. It gives her perspective when she gets overwhelmed. “I think that connection to culture and community is what keeps me grounded, and if I ever got an ego, my community would pull me back down to earth,” she reflects.

When it comes to inspiration, Campeau is inspired by her mom who got pregnant first at 13 and had six kids before she was 24. She went to school and got a degree in social work eventually, while also taking in other people’s kids. Her mom inspires her with her ability to forgive.

To inspire Indigenous youth, Campeau wants to tell them not to be afraid to be in a space where they don’t see anyone like them. She also says, “Don't be afraid to follow your dreams. Sometimes you might think that they're extreme and unattainable, but you never know where you're going to end up, and who will support you… There's allies out there… and they might not look like your typical ally, so be open to unconventional people being in your life,” she advises.

Jennifer Campeau kept trying and that’s how she’s had opportunities that she never imagined she would have at 12 years old. Now the Vice President of Indigenous Relations at Aecon Construction Group, she’s been an MLA, a cabinet minister, she’s worked in academia and travelled the world. Moving forward from having dropped out of high school to getting her MBA and beyond, she’s creating a legacy for her grandson while staying connected to her culture and building partnerships with communities she can be proud of.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.