Caron appointed advisor to PM Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has hired Zoë Caron (BSc’07) as an environmental advisor.
At the age of 30, Caron has established herself as a dedicated environmental and sustainability activist.
As part of his policy advisory team, Caron is responsible for briefing the Prime Minister on environmental issues and any related political concerns. These include issues like climate change, forestry, agriculture and ocean science.
A strong start for Caron
The Dal Science grad has been busy since taking on this new role.
“Two weeks ago at the first ministers’ meeting in Vancouver when [Trudeau] met with all the premiers, I would brief him on a daily basis before those meetings, to go over the political context and answer any questions that he has,” Caron says.
“He is a strong leader in the sense that he really understands issues before he goes into a meeting, which is wonderful.”
One of Caron’s tasks was drafting a joint statement for Prime Minister Trudeau and U.S. President Barack Obama.
The two leaders delivered the statement during an arrival ceremony for the Canadian delegation at the White House on March 10.
Dalhousie’s impact
Caron says that her studies at Dalhousie gave her the practical experience needed to meet her career goals.
“For example, I had classes that were about ‘how do you communicate science to people,’ or ‘how do you ensure that developing countries don’t suffer more damage from climate change impacts,’ or ‘how do you ensure that developing countries can make a transition to lower carbon energy,'” she says.
“I was able to work on some real world pragmatic questions, as well as the hard sciences.”
Alumni connections
Caron previously worked for World Wildlife Fund Canada, WWF International and Clean Energy Canada. She also served as a consultant to the Government of Nova Scotia.
She has worked closely with fellow alumna and Green Party leader Elizabeth May (LLB’83); they co-authored Global Warming for Dummies in 2008.
Read more in “Prime Minister hires LVR grad as advisor” on nelsonstar.com.
Photo: Submitted