Krista Carr: ‘Our society is stronger when all citizens have the opportunity to belong’

Krista Carr was an honouree at the 2026 Frank McKenna Awards, which recognize exceptional leaders who’s contributions to public policy have strengthened Atlantic Canada and the country. Read PPF’s profile of Carr. 

Read her speech on why real inclusion takes all of us working together, and why the work is far from done.

The transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity. 

First of all, thank you so much, Madame Landry. Your legacy is amazing, and it’s a true honor to receive the award from from you.

I also want to say thank you to Premier Holt, who I first was introduced to by Andy Scott, somebody who is deeply important in my life and my career and everything I ever did. We were brought to work together when he had the idea for a N.B. 2026, so I appreciate all your kind words. Good evening, friends, family, and honored guests. Bonsoir, amis, famille et distingués invités.

I’m deeply honored to accept this award. I accept it with humility and a very strong sense of responsibility. I can assure you, that nothing I have ever accomplished, or perhaps more aptly, been part of accomplishing, has happened solely because of me. It has happened with talented volunteer leaders, amazing staff, willing and capable politicians who truly wanted to make a difference. It’s also because of community partners, and the sheer force of will of people with an intellectual disability and their families, whose resilience in the face of adversity is awe-inspiring.

The issues that have shaped my life’s work are not abstract policy questions; they affect real people, real families, and the opportunities that people have or do not have to participate fully in the fabric of Canadian Society. Over the last 30 years, my work has been guided by a few core ideas that I feel really strongly about. Every single person deserves to be valued equally and supported fully to participate in all aspects of our society. Our society is stronger when all citizens have the opportunity to belong. Inclusion, real, actual, meaningful inclusion, is the higher order value. Progress requires people who are willing to challenge assumptions and stereotypes, and persist when change is difficult.

I really want to thank Public Policy Forum for this award, and I want to thank you for all the work that you do. I want to thank former Premier McKenna,whose name is on this award; that’s a great honor. I also want to say a special thank you to my dear friend and partner for many years in all things disability inclusion and public policy, Haley Flaro, for nominating me for this award. I want to thank my amazing staff, some of whom are here tonight, for their tireless dedication and unwavering commitment to inclusive societies. You lift me up, even when the work is really hard, especially when it’s hard, and frankly, it’s so often hard.

I also want to thank my family, my husband Jody, for all the roles that he has held in his career. He has never, ever, once made me feel for one second that my work was less important than his. He has been unwavering in his support, and to my daughters Taylor and Madison, I have missed so much of your lives, traveling the province and the country to try to make the lives of others better. You have sacrificed the most, and I love you very much. And I want to thank individuals with an intellectual disability and their families. The greatest privilege of my work has been learning from people who have spent their lives asking for things that should never have been in question: the opportunity to be valued, to participate, and to belong. The gap between Canada’s stated values and the lived reality of individuals and families remains far too wide.

We should measure the success of our public policy not only by the strength of our economy or of our public institutions, but by whether people who have historically been excluded see and feel the difference those policies make in their everyday life. Awards like this recognize work that’s already been done, but they also remind us of the work that remains.

My hope is that we continue to have the courage to challenge what we have come to accept, the humility to listen to those whose voices have been overlooked, and the determination to build a Canada where inclusion is not simply an aspiration but a lived reality. And we have miles to go before we sleep. Thank you.