Rose Paul is a testament to Indigenous women’s leadership, embodying a keen separation between business acumen and political engagement. With her Mi’kmaw roots deep-seated, her grandparents’ teachings have shaped her lifelong mission: driving the Mi’kmaw community’s growth and prosperity. As a fluent Mi’kmaw speaker and proud mother of 8, she draws inspiration from her 15 grandchildren (and counting).

Leading Bayside Development Corporation, the business vanguard of the Paqtnkek Mi’kmaw Nation, Rose’s vision is anchored in generating employment and creating businesses for Paqtnkek members and the wider community. Her perseverance saw the rejuvenation of a 1962 provincial agreement, culminating in a groundbreaking tripartite accord with both Provincial & Federal entities.

This facilitated the community’s reconnection with lands via a multi-million-dollar highway interchange at Exit 38B, after decades of separation. The fi rst chapter, Bayside Travel Centre, is just the beginning, with a larger blueprint envisioning a vibrant business hub dedicated to socio-economic upliftment and eradicating the colonial footprint. Recently, Rose has successfully delineated business from politics by entirely disentangling the community’s business enterprises from its band governance structures.

Dedicated to cultural preservation, she seamlessly integrates traditional wisdom into her strategies. By honoring the past seven generations, she masterfully lays out plans that serve the next seven. Beyond mere business, Rose emphasizes the importance of Treaty & Indigenous Rights and ardently champions the path to reconciliation through her corporate alliances. Strategic alliances lie at the heart of Rose’s community-driven economic blueprint. She champions ties with industrial leaders such as Everwind Fuels, advocating ‘energy sovereignty’ and eco-consciousness. Engagements span Rocket Development with Maritime Launch Services, mining ventures with Signal Gold, and lucrative collaborations with Clearwater. In Northeastern Nova Scotia, Rose’s infl uence bridges cultural divides, pioneering economic and sustainable partnerships with local bodies. She holds the distinction of being the first Mi’kmaq member on the Antigonish Chamber of Commerce board.

As the matriarch and esteemed business leader of the Nation, she’s been acknowledged with the Powerful Women Award and the Indigenous Women Leadership Award, underscoring her unwavering commitment and influence. Senator PJ Prosper celebrates Rose as a “business trailblazer, fervently pursuing a sovereign Nation perspective via frameworks like the fi scal management act, land codes, taxation, and nation-wide affiliations.”

Dedicated to cultural preservation, Rose champions events such as the annual Paqtnkek Mawiomi (Powwow) and secures funding to sustain such initiatives. Her role at Bayside Development Corporation encapsulates a spirit of collaboration, working hand in hand with a profi cient team of specialists. With a relentless thirst for knowledge, Rose’s aspirations are sky-high, eyeing institutions like Harvard University. Commanding respect as a tenacious business persona, she is devoted to the Paqtnkek Mi’kmaw Nation and its Corporation’s shared ambitions.