Leadership Lens is a series of Q&As with participants from AKFC’s Global Leadership Program. From artists to philanthropists, finance executives to medical doctors, AKFC’s Global Leaders are all dedicated to strengthening Canada’s role in addressing global and local issues, and building a more prosperous, peaceful, and pluralistic world.
In her travels to more than 50 countries, Barbara Balfour has chilled with sumo wrestlers in Tokyo, baked bread in the mountains of Georgia, salsa danced under the stars in Cuba, and hesitantly swallowed bumblebee larvae at the world’s #1 restaurant in Denmark. Barbara is a writer, editor, media trainer, TV host and producer whose work has appeared in BBC, ELLE, the Economist Group, Fodors, Frommer’s, TimeOut, People, and every daily newspaper in Canada. Learn more about Barbara on our 2025-2026 Global Leadership Program cohort page.
AKFC: What led you to pursue a career in journalism and communications?
Barbara Balfour: I was raised by public libraries. While other kids were being shuttled to piano lessons or hockey practice, I was carrying home a weekly mountain of books almost as tall as my nine-year-old self. Storytelling became my passport to different worlds long before I could afford a plane ticket.
My strict immigrant parents viewed writing as a charming hobby at best, a one-way ticket to unemployment at worst. That narrative held until my late teens, when I stumbled into a summer internship at a daily newspaper. There I discovered the glorious, rebellious truth: words could change lives… and even pay the rent.
Journalism appealed to the unabashedly curious part of my personality. I wanted to know what makes people tick, how power operates, whom society overlooks, and why certain trends explode while others fizzle. Communications came later, after
years in newsrooms taught me how to ask the right questions and show audiences why they should care. It helped me hone another vital skill: creating change from the inside, not just reporting on the outside.
Both fields scratch the same itch — to illuminate something hidden and help others make sense of a complex world through storytelling.
AKFC: What keeps you motivated?
BB: I chase those moments when a story opens a door for someone.
I think of academics pursuing important research or small businesses I’ve profiled who told me later my articles helped them secure funding and grow their teams. Or a TV show on mental health I produced and hosted, that prompted strangers to send messages saying they felt seen for the first time. Or providing media training to NATO soldiers preparing for deployment, that allowed them to get perspective on the many ways a story can be told and still hold truth.
Then there are the personal jolts that encourage me, despite everything, to still believe in magic. Like casually eating lunch in Tokyo and finding myself welcomed into the world of sumo wrestlers. Or learning what bumblebee larvae tastes like at the world’s best restaurant. Or hitchhiking in the Balkans and discovering the driver had the exact same birthday and hometown as
a dear friend. These surprising connections with people who appear so different from me on the surface renew my faith in humanity and remind me why I stay curious.
Those moments also matter so much because the creative path requires an almost Olympic level of self-belief. Running your own business offers an incredible sense of freedom, yet constantly having to prove your value can be draining. No one wants the cheapest root canal, but creative work rarely receives the same respect, and expertise is too often questioned. On tough days, I remember: great storytelling helps people feel less alone. That keeps me going every single time and it’s why I keep dragging my laptop across continents in search of the next spark.
AKFC: What inspired you to apply for the Global Leadership Program?
BB: The program feels like my favourite things stitched together: global citizenship, solutions-focused storytelling, and the chance to collaborate with brilliant thinkers who are just as obsessed with big ideas as I am.
There is so much noise in the world. I want to cut through it by telling stories that highlight what’s working instead of only chronicling what’s broken: journalism that empowers readers with possibilities and tangible solutions, rather than dread.
This program offers structure, mentorship, and a community that shares this mission. I saw it as an irresistible opportunity to sharpen my craft while forming the kind of partnerships that can spark real change after the week is over.
AKFC: Do you have any questions or curiosities you are excited to explore over the course of the program?
BB: Absolutely. A few questions I hope to explore include: the psychology of belonging — what connections lift people out of isolation, and how can they be replicated across borders? Money and human behaviour: how can cultural narratives about wealth and economics shape inequality, and how can reframing them shift outcomes? Cross-cultural trust: what helps strangers become allies? What teachings travel well from one community to another? [I also hope to explore] new models of storytelling: can we build a sustainable model of journalism that is rigorous and hopeful at the same time?
Mostly, I can’t wait to learn from others in the cohort — people who look at the same world I do, yet notice entirely different constellations because of their unique and beautiful life experiences.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Barbara Balfour is part of the 2025-2026 cohort of AKFC’s Global Leadership Program. Learn more about the program here.
