This is the 45th and final Weekly Wrap of 2024. We launched the weekly digest on February 17, 2024, and never missed a week thereafter. If readers will permit, I’d like to wrap up the year with a reflection on a friend of mine, Niilo Edwards, who lived a good and meaningful life even if it was tragically cut short this week.
It’s interesting how the relationships that we develop during our formative years—the period when we transition into full adulthood—tend to have a special meaning.
I moved from Thunder Bay to Ottawa as a political-crazed early-twenty-something in 2005. The first place I lived was something of a Conservative boarding house at the corner of O’Connor and Somerset. There were some common areas and then each of us had our own bedrooms.
It was a bit transient. Some people came and went after brief stays. Others like me lasted slightly longer. But many of the people from that period went on to become lasting friends of mine.
One of them was Niilo Edwards. He was a young, tall guy in a black wool overcoat and big red high-top Nike sneakers. We met soon after the 2005-06 federal election when he and other ambitious young Conservatives from across the country descended on Ottawa in search of jobs in the newly elected Harper government.
He stayed with us briefly while he hit the pavement and distributed his resume widely around Parliament Hill. Niilo had previously worked for his local MP, John Duncan, but he had lost his seat and now he needed a new job.
His efforts were cut short though because he needed to return home to British Columbia soon after arriving. His mother’s health was deteriorating. She would sadly pass later that year.
Niilo eventually returned later in the year (or early the following year) and this time, he found a job working for Conservative MP Nina Grewal. It wasn’t a great job—the Grewals were nuts—but he worked hard and had lots of good material for us to laugh about at home.
Eventually, based in part on the recommendation from another of our housemates, Niilo got a job with Senator Gerry St. Germain. It became a wonderful partnership that started in Ottawa, migrated to British Columbia, and gave Niilo the professional experiences and opportunities that culminated with him becoming one of the country’s leading voices on Indigenous partnerships on resource development.
It wasn’t the most important partnership in his life though. That was held for his wife Rachael Durie, who I distinctly remember Niilo first meeting and talking about when we lived together. She became his best friend and closest confidant. The pride that he had for her and the life that they built together reflects the kind of relationship that we should all aspire to have with our spouses.
It also reflected Niilo himself. As I said, he was big and spoke a bit quiet and slow. It could cause people to underestimate his deep intelligence. And he was OK with that. He was born in Alert Bay and grew up in Sointula, a small fishing village on Malcolm Island, in B.C. He had the silent self-assuredness of someone who knew who he was and where he came from.
I met his father who worked in forestry on the eve of Rachael and Niilo’s wedding in July 2008. It was clear that he didn’t quite understand Niilo’s life and work in Ottawa but he knew that his son was doing big things and had a lot of people who knew and respected him.
The numbers kept growing over the years. Niilo’s efforts to help bring economic opportunity and financial self-sufficiency to Indigenous communities came with a rising profile and media attention. His successful leadership as the CEO of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition was recently recognized by his being named Indigenous Entrepreneur of the Year by BCBusiness and a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Program in the Pacific Region.
Niilo and I lost touch a bit over the years. The natural consequences of life, work, and geographic distance. But I enjoyed watching his professional life take off and his marriage with Rachael settle into a model for the rest of us.
His life wasn’t without challenge. First it was the passing of his mother and later his father. Then he himself had to deal with various ailments, including kidney disease that eventually led to Rachael donating one of her kidneys to him. She recalled: “I had a quiet confidence I would be his match. We do everything together so this just made sense that of course it would be me!”
Yet notwithstanding these issues, Niilo was always level-headed. He didn’t have a “woe is me” bone in his body. His was a practical disposition—he was instinctively focused on moving forward rather than succumbing to self-pity.
Unfortunately, Niilo faced a new set of health issues this year. Cancer and related problems caused him to spend a great deal of time in and out of the hospital. His friends appreciated Rachael’s similarly level-headed yet loving updates on his condition. We hoped (and even subconsciously expected) him to pull through. His whole life had been a story of overcoming challenges and building the career and marriage that he wanted.
This week however Niilo tragically passed. He was 37 years old.
He leaves behind a tremendous legacy, including significant progress in helping Indigenous communities unlock the benefits of resource development. Under his leadership, the First Nations Major Projects Coalition has grown to support over 170 Indigenous communities nationwide and oversee a project portfolio valued at $45 billion. B.C. Premier David Eby noted these accomplishments in a statement marking Niilo’s death.
But his greatest legacy is his marriage to Rachael who has been the embodiment of unconditional love throughout Niilo’s health challenges. She has shown grace and joy and love even in the face of sadness and hardship. Hopefully she finds comfort in knowing how much her love was reciprocated.
Niilo’s admirers and friends share in Rachael’s sadness but also in gratitude for his life and example. He has left a huge mark on those who knew him and the country as a whole. He will not be forgotten.
Sean Speer is The Hub's Editor-at-Large. He is also a university lecturer at the University of Toronto and Carleton University, as well as a think-tank scholar and columnist. He previously served as a senior economic adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
