Press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Toronto; March 10, 2021)

HarperCollinsCanada is very pleased to have acquired Canada English rights to “Indian” in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power, the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould’s compelling political memoir of leadership, on sale October 12, 2021.

“Telling stories is integral to our Indigenous ways of sharing and learning. Growing up, I never imagined I would be a Member of Parliament and a Minister in the federal Cabinet. My experience over the past five years has deepened my understanding of the challenges and opportunities we collectively face in governing this country, and has caused me to further reflect on what it means to be Indigenous in this country today. In sharing this story, including my journey of getting into, and out of, the Cabinet, I hope to contribute to our shared work of building an even stronger Canada—a Canada where our political culture and governance practices can rise to address the most pressing issues of our time, such as racial justice and climate change,” says Jody Wilson-Raybould.

Wilson-Raybould was raised to be a leader. Inspired by the example of her grandmother, who persevered throughout her life to keep alive the governing traditions of her people, and raised as the daughter of a hereditary chief and Indigenous leader, Wilson-Raybould always knew she would take on leadership roles. She never anticipated, however, that those roles would lead to a journey from her home community of We Wai Kai in British Columbia to Ottawa as Canada’s first Indigenous Minister of Justice and Attorney General in the Cabinet of then newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Wilson-Raybould’s experience in Trudeau’s Cabinet began with optimism about the possibilities for change but shifted to struggles over inclusivity and concerns about the adherence to core principles of our democracy. In this book, Wilson-Raybould recounts the hard choices she had to make, standing up and speaking the truth, and demonstrating, in front of the nation, the need for greater independence and less partisanship in our political culture.

“Indian” in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power is the story of why Wilson-Raybould got into federal politics, her experience as an Indigenous leader sitting around the Cabinet table, her proudest achievements, and how she moved forward after the very public SNC-Lavalin affair. Now sitting as an Independent Member of Parliament, Wilson-Raybould believes there is a better way to govern and a better way for politics—one that will make a better country for all.

Jennifer Lambert, Senior Editorial Director, said of the acquisition, “Jody Wilson-Raybould is one of the most inspiring women and leaders in Canada today, and it is a great honour for HarperCollins to be publishing her political memoir. “Indian” in the Cabinet will shed new light on the most public moments of her time in government and will go beyond the headlines to bring to readers her personal experiences and her vision for a better way forward for the country.”

Ms. Wilson-Raybould is represented by CookeMcDermid Literary Management. The book deal was brokered by Stephanie Sinclair, Literary Agent, at CookeMcDermid.

The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, P.C., Q.C., M.P., is the Independent Member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville. She served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence until her resignation in 2019 following the SNC-Lavalin affair. Ms. Wilson-Raybould is a lawyer, advocate, and leader among British Columbia’s First Nations. She has been a provincial Crown prosecutor, a commissioner of the BC Treaty Commission, a councillor for the We Wai Kai Nation, a chair of the First Nations Finance Authority, and has served as regional chief of the BC Assembly of First Nations.

Jody Wilson-Raybould is a descendant of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk and Laich-Kwil-Tach peoples, which are part of the Kwakwaka’wakw and also known as the Kwak’wala-speaking peoples. She is a member of the We Wai Kai Nation. Her traditional name, Puglaas, means “woman born to noble people.”

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