Welcome, Honourable Ken Hughes
Honourable Ken Hughes, ECA, ICD.D
BCF Board Chair Fiona Jones is pleased to welcome the Honourable Ken Hughes to the Board of Directors of the Bow Valley’s community foundation.
Ken is an entrepreneur and community leader. Elected at age 34 to the House of Commons of Canada, he served as Chair of the Aboriginal Affairs Committee, and was Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister. Ken was the first Chair of the Board of Alberta Health Services, creating Canada’s largest health delivery service, leading through early years of development. In 2012, Hughes was elected to the Legislature of Alberta, appointed Minister of Energy, and led the creation of the Alberta Energy Regulator. Subsequently, as Minister of Municipal Affairs, he led the resolution of Disaster Recovery Assistance claims for nearly 10,000 Albertan families recovering from the floods of 2013. In September 2014, he returned to private life.
"BCF is at a stage where it has the capacity to grow and have an even larger impact in the community. I have always been a builder, in business and in public life, so helping build the BCF is something I feel I can contribute to."
Ken Hughes training on the Legacy Trail.
Hughes studied at the University of Guelph, the University of Alberta, B.Sc. (Agriculture) and has an MPA from the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University. He was recognized as Honourary Chief of the Piikani First Nation. (October 2023)
These days, he’s Chair of the Board, Providence Therapeutics, Canada’s messenger RNA company, focused on cancer and infectious disease vaccine development, and is a certified governance professional. Ken lives in Canmore and is a keen Nordic skier
We caught up with Ken to talk about his vision for the Foundation and our purpose to help generate and steward community wealth.
Q: We’re very pleased to be welcoming you to the organization. What most excites you about joining the BCF Board?
A: The Bow Valley is an exceptional area that includes several vibrant communities with a spectacular backdrop. My mother attended the Mountain School in Banff, predecessor of the Banff Centre, in the 1930’s, so our family has always had special ties here, even well before my wife Denise and I moved to Canmore. While the area provides an exceptional place to live and work, like everywhere, those opportunities are not accessible for everyone, and are not distributed equitably. BCF can be a vehicle to help address inequities in our social fabric by investing in strategically selected, very targeted community building initiatives.
BCF is at a stage where it has the capacity to grow and have an even larger impact in the community. I have always been a builder, in business and in public life, so helping build the BCF is something I feel I can contribute to.
Q:How do you see the role of a community foundation?
A: If done well, community foundations reflect the community. They can be a source of insight into both the strengths and the weaknesses of communities. In an ideal circumstance, foundations help build capacity, where that help ensures something happens that might not otherwise happen.
The community foundation can keep an eye out for the unique challenges, where people need assistance, meeting people where they live and exist, and providing a helping hand to help ensure both greater equity and sometimes, greater exceptionalism. It’s a very important role.
Q: We know that you are a keen cross country skier who has completed many loppets around the world. What are the aspects of life in the Bow Valley that you find the most enriching?
A: I welcome the access to recreation for hiking and cross-country skiing but also the access to cultural activities deeply rooted in the mountain settings, and mountain people.
