Laurier’s champion on Parliament Hill: Q and A with international relations expert Peter Boehm

May 29, 2024

The name Peter M. Boehm (BA ’77) is synonymous with “Laurier champion.”

The Canadian senator served as a deputy minister champion for Wilfrid Laurier University on Parliament Hill between 2013 and 2017 and continues to advocate for Laurier’s International Students Overcoming War (ISOW), a multi-faceted initiative that enables students from war-torn countries to study in safety and security in Canada.

Born and raised in Kitchener, Boehm is one of Laurier’s most accomplished graduates. He possesses a wealth of experience in international relations including serving as deputy minister and personal representative for the prime minister at the G7 Summit; deputy minister of international development; ambassador to Germany; minister, political and public affairs, at the Embassy of Canada to the United States, as well as ambassador to the Organization of American States (both based in Washington); and senior associate deputy minister of foreign affairs.

Boehm is a recipient of the Public Service of Canada Outstanding Achievement Award, as well as the Canadian Foreign Service Officer Award, for his contribution to advancing peace in Central America. Currently, he chairs the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Below, Boehm shares some of his favourite memories of Laurier: from learning how to think critically to advocating for ISOW — and even seeing Canadian rock icons Rush perform on the Waterloo campus.

What stood out to you about your Laurier education?

The classes were small and you got a fair amount of professor-student interaction. Laurier had a good reputation in the subjects I was interested in — English and History. I came out of high school and thought I was pretty good at writing. You think you’re a hot shot and then you get your papers back — you learn a lot from that. There was a lot of critical thinking involved. I really enjoyed Shakespeare and Professor Flora Roy was the head of the English department at the time: she taught the 20th-century literature course, which I found fascinating — from James Joyce to William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. I also enjoyed learning from Barry Gough and Welf Heick in History, and I had taken a few political science courses. I had always been interested in international affairs and Laurier provided what I needed to succeed going into the master’s program at Carleton University. I later completed my PhD in History at the University of Edinburgh.

What is your current Laurier passion project?

I’m still connected to Laurier through ISOW and the leadership of Associate Professor Gavin Brockett. I’ve met with the ISOW group here in Ottawa and helped in terms of getting some of the students from war zones into Laurier. I personally think it’s such a great cause and the student body deserves credit for voting in favour of increasing fees in support of ISOW. I’m still in touch as an advisor and engaging in advocacy work to support this program as much as we can.

How else have you been involved with Laurier?

From time to time, I have met with the previous and current presidents of the university, Max Blouw and Deborah MacLatchy. There is also a program at the federal government level where deputy ministers become champions for certain universities. I was the deputy minister champion for Laurier from 2013 until 2017. The idea is that you help the university in terms of any connection its administration requires at the federal level — recognizing universities are, of course, a provincial responsibility, but sometimes there are programs or co-op programs where you can assist as a senior public servant by opening some doors. I also proudly help raise awareness about the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council in Ottawa. Lastly, I have worked with Ann Fitz-Gerald, the director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA), several times to speak at the BSIA about international summitry, having been a personal representative for several prime ministers including Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau.

What are your thoughts about navigating international relations in today’s political climate?

On this, I’m an optimist and I don’t subscribe to the theory that we’re not doing enough. We’re doing a lot but it’s a difficult time for international relations. There’s a lot of misinformation and disinformation out there. By and large, Canada is a successful post-modern country. It’s one of the oldest democracies in the world. We’re a global trader, we’re a global investor, we’re a member of the G7, and a charter member of the United Nations. There are a lot of things that we have been doing over the years. You have your ups and downs and different governments will have different approaches. Minority governments might not be as active internationally as majority governments and that’s part of our own democratic fabric. We are also very decentralized in terms of our federation where our provinces will also to some degree have international roles. Could we do better? Of course we could do better — that’s part of the work that I do in the Senate in chairing the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. We have hearings, we do studies and we try to provide something extra that cannot come out of the House of Commons, where things are often much more polarized politically.

Lastly, what was one fun highlight of your time at Laurier?

One that stood out was at the start of university in 1973 — Rush played on the Waterloo campus grounds and almost shattered the windows of the residence there. They were amazing.