Nadia Theodore, BA, MA (Pol Sci), LLB
by Dave Tulloch
Ottawa-born Ambassador Nadia Theodore, the daughter of Caribbean immigrants is Canada’s top diplomat to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Caribbean immigrants who came to Ottawa starting in the mid-1950s were instrumental in developing certain aspects of the City of Ottawa that residents currently enjoy. They brought their distinctive Caribbean culture which is now an integral part of city life, and they came with a wealth of skills and acumen to facilitate the development of the nation’s Capital. This has allowed Ottawa to secure a spot within the top 100 best cities to live in the 2023 worldwide ranking.
However, the pre-eminent and long-lasting impact of the early Caribbean immigrants, not just on the City of Ottawa, nor even Canada for that matter, but on the world at large are their children. Nadia Theodore exemplifies this phenomenon. Nadia is a brilliant, dynamic, and purpose-driven person who is very dedicated to the cause of diplomacy. She is extremely proud to represent Canada in this capacity.
Ambassador Theodore’s parents came to Canada around 1963. Her father McGriffin Theodore, a retired Economist completed his undergraduate degree in Michigan, USA, then returned to his native St. Lucia for a brief period. He decided to pursue post-graduate studies in Canada and he and his wife Greselda moved to Ottawa. Both parents worked with the Federal Government. They instilled their philosophy of service to others into their kids. McGriffin was also an accomplished musician. He was a Calypso phenomenon in St. Lucia where he was an 8 times “Calypso Monarch” honored in the book “Tribute to the Mighty Terra”, his St. Lucian stage name. After moving to Ottawa, he became the lead singer in “The Flamingoes”, Ottawa’s first Caribbean band on record.
Nadia completed her primary schooling and up to grade 11 of her secondary education in Ottawa. Then she went to St. Lucia to complete grade 12. This afforded her a first-hand cultural experience of the values that her parents transferred to her. But she began to recognize her life’s purpose when she was 12 years old. In my teleconference discussion with her from her office in Geneva, she explained that her parents instilled in her the notion of serving others. “When I was a kid I had a deep sense of Justice, giving back, public service.” She enjoyed hanging out with her friends, and a sleepover was atop the hanging-out events list. But her parents decided that she would no longer attend them. She felt very strongly that this decision was unfair and set out to advocate for her cause by gathering some 100 signatures from around her neighborhood to support her case. Despite her efforts, she did not get her parents to reverse their decision, but the impact of this experience was nonetheless profound. Nadia recognized the importance of advocacy, and this was one of the driving forces that propelled her career leading to her current role as the Head of the Permanent Mission of Canada in Geneva.
Her career progress is impressive. She completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science (International Affairs) at Carleton University and a Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B) from the University of London. She entered the public service in 2000, and five years later she joined Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and had a meteoric advance through the ranks that dealt with international trade. This culminated with her 2017 appointment as Consul General of Canada to the southeast U.S. In this position, she is the second Black woman to Head a Canadian diplomatic Mission abroad, following in the footsteps of Virginie St-Louis who was the first as Canada’s Ambassador to Mali from 2009-2012. In 2022, Nadia was appointed to her current role. Ambassador Theodore is the first woman to serve in this position and the first Black person to reach this senior rank of executive at Global Affairs Canada.
Nadia’s motto is “Excellence with Authenticity”, and this was evident during our discussion. “I am very Canadian… but I make no apologies for the fact that who I am is grounded in where my parents came from… (and) I always had a belief that if more people in important roles like diplomacy brought together more of the intersections of their personalities and upbringings, we would bring so much more to the jobs.”
Despite the intense demands of her job, Ambassador Theodore ensures that she maintains her family focus. Eric, her husband, and their daughter are top priorities. She maintains close contact with her father who spends much of his retirement time in St. Lucia and with her siblings in Canada. However, she invests time in mentoring young aspirants within her organization as well as other youth outside the institutional milieu. “If I can inspire or motivate someone who is looking to enter into the world of international relations, then I am happy to do so.”
Dave Tulloch was born in Jamaica. He immigrated to Canada in 1970 to pursue post-secondary education. He earned a diploma in electronics engineering technology from Algonquin College, a Bachelor of Admin and Bachelor of Commerce (Hon) from the University of Ottawa, and a Master of Business Administration from Concordia University. He has an extensive career in information technology and in IT consulting with Systemhouse, KPMG, and Oracle Corporation where he retired as a director. Dave taught IT and business courses at CEGEP (Hull) and tutored at the Wake Tech College in North Carolina. He wrote articles for the Ottawa Spectrum publication that focused on Ottawa’s Visible Minorities community and has written a book documenting the life stories of early Caribbean Immigrants to Ottawa, scheduled for publication later this year. He can be contacted via email: [email protected]