Udlu Hanson named to top 100 most powerful women in Canada

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s vice-president of community and strategic development has been named to the Women’s Executive Network’s 104 most powerful women in Canada.

Udlu Hanson is the first Inuk from Nunavut to receive the honour since 2010, when Kathy Okpik, then the territorial deputy minister of education, was named. 

“That makes me grateful,” Hanson told Nunatsiaq News Wednesday from the Nunavut Trade Show in Iqaluit, where she took part in a panel discussion the day prior.

“That makes me proud to represent the many, many strong Inuit women that have helped impact my career.”

The network released its 24th annual list last week, which celebrates CEOs, entrepreneurs, professionals and leaders in governance and artificial intelligence.

Hanson, who is also the president of the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce, has served as an executive at Baffinland for more than seven years. Before that she was a Government of Nunavut deputy minister and CEO of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

She said she’s inspired by women who give back to their communities like her mother Ann Hanson, a broadcast journalist and author who served as the third commissioner of Nunavut between 2005 and 2010.

“There’s so many strong Inuit women who belong on that list,” Hanson said. “I think maybe we should have our own.”

Last year, she won a national volunteer achievement award dedicated to recognizing those with 20 years or more of volunteer service. It recognized her role in co-founding the Annauma Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization that provides grant funding to Nunavut-based organizations for projects related to youth, well being, arts and culture, and education.  

She also serves as a director emeritus at the Rideau Hall Foundation and sits on the Governor General’s Reconciliation Advisory Group.

Baffinland congratulated the achievement in a post on social media, noting that her commitment to community transcends far beyond the company.

“This recognition reflects Udlu’s longstanding commitment to advancing Inuit leadership, cultural integration, and community engagement in ways that strengthen long-term, respectful, and mutually beneficial relationships with Inuit communities, Inuit organizations and governments,” the company wrote in a post on Tuesday. 

“Her leadership is embedded in both operational oversight and strategic decision-making, ensuring that Inuit knowledge and priorities are meaningfully reflected in corporate governance and development.”

— With files from Daron Letts