Two NWT residents explore Yukon and Quebec for leadership conference

Kari Davenport and Jennifer Parrott say they learned about the need for collaboration and leading with positivity while participating in a prestigious cross-Canada trip.

Every three to four years, the Governor General Canadian Leadership Conference sends select people around the country on a “fact-finding mission” to learn about the perspectives of Canadians nationwide, said Davenport, the business development manager at the Western Arctic Marine Training Centre in Hay River.

The 2026 Governor General Canadian Leadership Conference ran from May 22 to June 5.

“Being able to immerse yourself in somewhere totally different than where you live, and to learn it, just made me love the country that we’re in so much more,” said Parrott, an Inuvik town councillor.

“I went into the program loving Canada and being a proud Canadian, and from this I feel even stronger in who we are as a country and where we’re going.

“I really loved the opportunity to connect with a part of Canada that I didn’t have much of a background in the past.”

After a few days of meetings and workshops in Quebec City on the conference’s theme – sustainable prosperity – the 240 participants were split into groups of 12 to 16 and sent to different provinces and territories.

Of three locations Davenport could have selected when she applied to the program, she chose two: the Yukon and Nunavut.

“The Arctic is so incredibly vast and nuanced, and there’s different cultures and different components of a community,” Davenport said, asked why she wanted to go to other territories.

Davenport said her group visited Whitehorse, Dawson City, Kluane Lake Research Station, Haynes Junction and Carcross.

She said her study tour showed her how industry was “engaging on a grassroots level with communities,” speaking of a visit to a hydroelectric dam that installed a fish ladder to address community concerns the dam would affect the salmon population.

“It really came down to the dedication that Yukoners have towards their territory and the love that they have for their home, and how can we work with every single partner and find common ground to achieve good,” Davenport said.

Parrott’s study tour was in the lower portion of Quebec, between Quebec City and Gatineau. They said their group visited a circus school, the Royal Military College Saint-Jean, container villages, homeless shelters and not-for-profits.

“The experience from seeing so many different groups within Quebec really showed that truly valuing members of your community is so important to the success of both your community as well as your entire province,” said Parrott.

When Parrott applied for the program, they wanted to meet people with whom they wouldn’t normally interact.

“I really do believe that we can learn from everyone, no matter what background or capacity that you’re operating in,” they said.

After nine days on study tours, participants came back together in Ottawa to share what they had learned with outgoing Governor General Mary Simon.

Davenport said the theme of collaboration and community engagement was her group’s message to the governor general.

Parrott said the message they shared with the governor general was on the importance of “truly seeing the potential in those around us” and being a positive leader.

“Every single leader we met was positive and kind, and full of humour, and that was despite any hardship that they were experiencing,” said Parrott.

When Cabin Radio spoke with Davenport and Parrott, they had only recently returned to their communities but said they were already seeing the impact of the conference in their day-to-day lives.

“Leadership doesn’t have to be a grand, massive ordeal. It can be just knowing yourself and doing the best you can for your family, your friends, and then your community,” said Davenport.

“Knowing that many things can be true at the same time – knowing that there are many ways to lead, there are many ways to succeed, there are many ways to work together, and there are many ways that we can all move forward – is a great reflection and really positive for perspective setting,” said Parrott.

Five people from Yukon, six people from the NWT and six people from Nunavut represented the territories in this year’s Governor General Canadian Leadership Conference.

For those interested in applying to the next conference, Davenport and Parrott reminded people to be themselves.

“Make sure you enter into the journey with an open mind, but that you lead with integrity. Don’t allow yourself to be lost in the process,” said Parrott.