Carole Taylor

Back in 1964, when she was Miss Toronto and co-hosted After Four, a show for teenagers, Carole Taylor probably didn’t think she would have a career interviewing prime ministers and covering foreign wars.

Taylor not only covered leading politicians, she became one herself. She became Minister of Finance in the B.C. Liberal government in 2005. And since June 2011, she has been Chancellor of Simon Fraser University.

Taylor’s life has evolved tremendously since she was on a CFTO show back in the 1960s. That job led to a long-term relationship with the network that saw her work on Canada AM and W5. After more than two decades of interviewing politicians, she decided to get into politics herself, winning a seat on Vancouver City Council.

"I thrive on change and new challenges. The adrenalin flow is what excites me. Every time I make a change in my life I probably know half of the job really well; the rest I've got to learn and grow. I embrace that."

In 2001, she was appointed chair of the board of CBC/Radio Canada and then returned to politics in 2005 and brought in four consecutive surplus budgets as finance minister. From 2007 to 2010, she was appointed chair of the Federal Economic Advisory Committee. In 2008, she retired from the B.C. Legislative Assembly and was appointed as SFU’s Chancellor in 2011.

Published Nov. 28, 2013