Last night, I attended Governing in Turbulent Times: Leadership, Reform, and Democratic Resilience, an event hosted by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute featuring a conversation between MLI founder Brian Lee Crowley and former United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss.

It was an engaging and very interesting discussion that addressed many of the themes in Truss’ 2024 book, Ten Years to Save the West, including the growing influence of leftist ideological activism within public institutions in the United Kingdom and across the West. Throughout the evening, Truss made passionate and well-informed arguments in defence of British and Western civilization.

Yet what interested me most last night was not the political discussion, but a bit of Burnaby history that falls within the scope of this website.

Liz Truss lived at 1735 Ellesmere Avenue in Burnaby from 1987 until 1988 when her father John Truss was teaching at Simon Fraser University. Along with Andrew Bonar Law, she is one of only two United Kingdom Prime Ministers known to have lived in Canada.

I am passionate about local history so I think this is an incredibly fascinating connection so I wrote a post about it in 2024:

While I was able to easily find out that Truss lived on Ellesmere Avenue and attended Parkcrest Elementary School, I was very curious to know more about her memories of my community. Where did she hang out? Where did she go shopping? What was her favourite mall?

Shortly after I arrived at the end event I spotted her chatting with some other attendees near the bar and I felt this was my chance to ask her. I was a bit nervous, but my friend Amy helped me to work up the courage to approach her.

I stood at a respectful distance, and as soon as she caught a glimpse of me I smiled and said, “Ms. Truss, I’m Nathaniel and it’s an honour to meet you. I come from Burnaby and I know that I speak for many people there when I say we’re proud to say that you once lived in our community.”

“Thank you! It’s nice to meet you, Nathaniel!” she replied. “What part of Burnaby are you in?”

“I live in the Burnaby Heights near Hastings and Willingdon,” I said.

“Ah! So that makes us rivals!” she remarked with a smile. “I lived on Ellesmere.”

“What were your favourite places to hang out in Burnaby? Did you go to Brentwood Mall?”

“No, I went to Coquitlam Mall” she replied.

I didn’t want to take up any more of her time so I thanked her and gave her my card and invited her to read my previous blog post about her. I’m sure that we said a bit more to each other, but I was so excited that I may have forgotten a few words.

Towards the end of the evening, Brian Lee Crowley asked her about her time in Burnaby.

She noted that this was her first visit to Vancouver since 1988 and shared memories of attending Parkcrest Elementary School:

“There was no uniform at our school in Canada. We had to wear a uniform in Britain so I really liked not having to wear a uniform. And there was an ice rink very near the school which I went to every day. I just loved skating so that was fantastic. In winter we got the bus up to Grouse Mountain every week and did skiing, and that was fantastic so I’ve got great memories of that.”

She also reflected on the differences she perceived between life in Canada and England:

“I come from Leeds which is in the north of England and Canada just seemed so clean and new and the buildings were new and Leeds was a bit depressing really in comparison and a bit dirty.”

She then recalled specific places in the region:

“I used to go to the mall… the Coquitlam Mall with my brother and we loved the food court. I remember one day we were meant to get a bus home but we spent all the money in the food court. It was the tacos. I think it was the Taco Bell… I remember the great Chinese food as well there. So it was a happy time.”

She ended on a more reflective note about her impressions of Canada at the time:

“There’s something in Britain that people are more fatalistic… I don’t know if that comes from being an old country. But I felt people here were more… the students believed they could do everything. It was all very positive.”