Nicole Bourque-Bouchier is co-owner and CEO of Bouchier, one of the largest Indigenous-owned and Indigenous-operated companies in the Athabasca Oil Sands region. She is a member of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and raised in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Ms. Bourque-Bouchier studied computer systems at the Northern Alberta Institute for Technology before starting her career in the Alberta oil industry with Syncrude, then operating her own consulting company. She was also Manager of Aboriginal Affairs for TrueNorth Energy and a stakeholder relations advisor for Shell Canada in Alberta’s Wood Buffalo region.

Business leader, dedicated community activist and advocate for Indigenous women’s economic empowerment, Ms.Bourque-Bouchier has received numerous honours, including being named one of Scotiabank’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada in 2015, the 2018 Indspire Award for Business and Commerce, the 2019 Indigenous Women in Leadership recipient by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and most recently named as one of six Canadian CEOs as 2020 Catalyst Honours Champion.