About Pamela Wallin
Pamela Wallin... a believer in public service & active citizenship
The Honourable Pamela Wallin, O.C., S.O.M. was appointed to the Senate of Canada on December 22, 2008. She serves as an Independent Senator. She was Chair of the Senate's National Security & Defence Committee, and was an active member of both the Veterans Affairs subcommittee and the Senate's Foreign Affairs & International Trade Committee. And she served as the Honourary Colonel of the RCAF for five years. She was also one of five Canadians who served on the Special Independent Panel on Canada's role in Afghanistan. This followed her diplomatic service as Canada's Consul General in New York from 2002-2006, in the wake of the tragic and tumultuous events of 9/11.
Pamela Wallin has been recognized four times by Queen Elizabeth II for her public service and achievements and she also holds fourteen Honourary Doctorates, among many other honors. In 1995, the citizens of her hometown of Wadena, Saskatchewan dedicated a street in her honor, Pamela Wallin Drive.
A wise person once said: “If you can’t offer people a vision of what they should do, you won’t be able to persuade them about the things they shouldn’t do.” Pamela tries to live her life according to this sage wisdom.
Click here for the condensed Pamela Wallin biography.
Click here for the extended Pamela Wallin biography.
Author
Pamela Wallin is the author of three books, including her best-selling autobiography Since You Asked (1998), Speaking of Success (2001), and The Comfort of Cats (2002). She has also contributed to many more.
Journalist & Media Entrepreneur
The wide-ranging career of this television journalist, producer, author and entrepreneur has spanned more than forty years and several continents. From CBC radio to the Ottawa bureau of the Toronto Star to CTV where she hosted Canada AM, she went on to become the Ottawa bureau chief, and anchor of the CTV weekend news. And in 1992, she became the first Canadian woman to co-anchor the nightly national television newscast Prime Time News. In 1995, Pamela founded an independent television company, Pamela Wallin Productions, through which she hosted and produced several highly successful nightly interview programs. She created an online media column and was a partner in a high tech communications venture called NewsTheatre. Her media background is extensive and she has been named to the Canadian Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Pamela received a national Visionary Award in Canada after she built her highly successful multimedia company, producing television programs that are still the gold standard for the one-on-one interview format. Pamela continues to seek and create change and engaging opportunities. She is defined by the place she called home - Saskatchewan. Here is a piece she wrote while living in New York: Prairie Story
Volunteer & Advocate
The daughter of a WW2 tail gunner, Pamela’s connection to the military is lifelong. She values and believes in the importance of building and enhancing the military/civilian understanding. Pamela has shown her on- going commitment to the men and women of the military, traveling to Afghanistan on several occasions and to bases across the country and throughout the U.S.A. She continues to work with veterans and volunteers as the Service Officer for her Legion Branch #62 and works with many other volunteer organizations. Pamela has worked to promote a new Canadian National Leadership Program - a cooperative effort between the military and universities to enhance civilian/ military understanding. This program is based on the original COTC (Canadian Officer Training Corps). Pamela is an Officer of the Order of Canada, having received Canada's highest civilian honour in 2007, and received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 1999. She has fourteen Honorary Doctorates and among many other honours, and has been recognized four times by Queen Elizabeth II for her public service and achievements.