Homecoming for Laurier’s new chancellor: Nadir Patel on education, opportunity and lifelong ambassadorship

Oct. 15, 2024

With deep roots in Waterloo Region, Wilfrid Laurier University’s new Chancellor Nadir Patel (BA ’93) describes his upcoming installation during fall convocation as a heartfelt homecoming.

“I’m deeply honoured to have this opportunity to take on the most humbling of ambassadorial roles,” says Patel. “It’s a homecoming of sorts, as I’ve always been proud of having grown up in Cambridge and Waterloo Region. As a proud Laurier alumnus, there is no better way to give back to the community than through serving in the role of chancellor.”

An accomplished diplomat, strategic advisor and corporate director, Patel has held high-level government positions throughout a distinguished career in Canada’s public service. He is the former Canadian High Commissioner to India, overseeing Canada’s largest embassy abroad from 2014 to 2021; served as senior assistant deputy minister and chief financial officer with Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development; and as Canada’s consul general in Shanghai, China.

“For me, education is the foundation of everything in terms of professional opportunity, professional success and personal growth,” says Patel. “Every role I’ve had over my career has required gaining new insights and knowledge to succeed, regardless of experience.”

Patel will take on another new role when he is officially installed as Laurier’s 10th chancellor during a convocation ceremony on Oct. 17 at Lazaridis Hall in Waterloo. He succeeds Eileen Mercier, who served as Laurier’s chancellor since 2016.

The Wilfrid Laurier University mace was officially presented at fall convocation 1963 in memory of the Hon. Senator W.D. Euler, the university’s first chancellor.

Born in the UK, Patel’s family immigrated to Canada in 1974, settling in Cambridge, where he spent his formative years. Patel attended Galt Collegiate Institute, graduating an Ontario Scholar in 1989, and later attended Laurier, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1993. In addition to his degree from Laurier, Patel holds a joint MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and HEC Paris School of Management.

“Both of my parents were so keen on education and that was instilled in me,” says Patel. “When they left India, went to the UK and then came to Canada, it was always driven by making sure there was an educational opportunity for the kids.”

Patel currently serves as senior strategic advisor at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP and is a managing director at Fairfax Financial Holdings. He possesses extensive governance experience, including his current roles as a member of the board of directors of Canadian Tire Corporation where he chairs the board’s audit committee, chair of the board of Jumpstart Charities, and member of the board of the Ottawa Hospital Foundation.

A journey into public service

Patel began his career with the federal government while a student at Laurier, as a tax auditor in the Kitchener-Waterloo offices of Revenue Canada. At the time, he hadn’t previously considered an international career in the public service.

“I didn’t have an international career on my radar until midway through my government career, when I started thinking about what that could look like,” says Patel. “The lesson here is that what one plans and what materializes may be completely different.”

After joining Revenue Canada, Patel was presented a three-month opportunity working in Ottawa. After three weeks in the city, he was offered a permanent position and later entered the federal government’s management trainee program. He moved into positions of increasing importance, including in the Privy Council Office, where he served as chief of staff to the prime minister’s national security advisor and associate secretary to the cabinet. Other positions included senior policy adviser to the Privy Council clerk and cabinet secretary, as well as serving as Canada’s “chief air negotiator,” a position in which Patel negotiated 43 international aerospace agreements.

Global perspectives: A diplomatic career

Patel went on from Ottawa to diplomatic positions in China and India. He served as Canada’s Consul General in Shanghai during Expo 2010, and later as Canada’s longest-serving High Commissioner to India where he managed Canada’s presence in the country, including political and diplomatic relations, security and defence, public affairs, and developing Canada's commercial relationships. Having travelled to nearly 100 countries throughout his education and career, Patel says he brings an international perspective to his endeavours.

“You don’t need to live abroad or work abroad to fully appreciate how powerful a global perspective is, but it’s certainly an asset,” says Patel. “I would encourage folks – if they’ve got an opportunity for an international internship or some type of an exchange or volunteering – to do it. You bring that experience back to Canada and it’s incredibly powerful.”

During his first convocation ceremonies as chancellor, Patel says he hopes to inspire and motivate graduates as they move forward in their lives and careers. During recent weeks, he has been speaking with students about the top issues on their minds.

“I want to leave a message of inspiration, a message of taking the baton to continue to build not only a powerful university, but a powerful country, with their experience at Laurier,” says Patel. “If those students can take just one thing I say with them and remember that a week, or 10 days or a month later, I feel like I will have succeeded.”

Lifelong Laurier ambassador

Patel says he became emotional when President and Vice-Chancellor Deborah MacLatchy called about the opportunity to become Laurier's next chancellor. It was a call he certainly wasn't expecting.

“My first thoughts were of the privilege of holding this position, and of pride,” says Patel. “Education was so important in my family and I thought about my dad, who has passed away but was a huge proponent of getting as much education as possible.”

Patel currently resides in Ottawa with his spouse, Jennifer, and two children, Nylah, 9, and Aydin, 5. All will proudly attend his installation as chancellor on Oct. 17.

As well as conferring degrees and diplomas to graduates, Patel will serve as a member of Laurier’s Board of Governors and Senate. He says he’s looking forward to supporting Laurier’s strategic objectives and contributing to its governance, but is also excited about the opportunity to meet and interact with students.

“I'm looking forward to engaging with students and supporting their university journey in whatever way I can,” says Patel. “It could be sharing my experience, it could be supporting policies brought to the board where I can add value. I'm also looking forward to engaging with alumni, because it doesn’t end when you’ve graduated. If your experience at Laurier is good, and it always is, you will have a lifelong affinity for the school.”

Based on his own student experience, Patel says he's always considered himself “a lifelong ambassador for the Laurier brand and by extension the region.” He hopes that, like him, graduating students will serve as Laurier ambassadors as they move into the future.

“If they are serving as ambassadors, it means their experience at Laurier was positive,” says Patel. “They have an affinity for the brand and the school, and they will carry that with them wherever they go.”