'Definitely surreal': Calgary entrepreneur meets Queen Consort Camilla in new military role

It was a day that Calgary entrepreneur Manjit Minhas won't forget.

Best known for her role as co-founder and CEO of Minhas Breweries, Distilleries and Winery, Minhas met with Queen Consort Camilla yesterday at Buckingham Palace as part of her new role as honourary lieutenant-colonel.

She was appointed to the three-year role by the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (QOR) on Jan. 22. Her role is to promote pride within the unit and serve as an ambassador to the public.

"It was definitely surreal," said Minhas about meeting the queen consort on Wednesday. "We got to talk not only about what the regiment is doing and how successful the exercise is, but also what the future holds."

"She is a kind, passionate woman who has definitely got a great memory, but is also just really interested and had a lot of great questions."

The queen consort King Charles' wife has been the colonel-in-chief of the QOR since April 9, 2010. On Wednesday, members of the QOR presented her with her Canadian Forces' Decoration. It's a medal to recognize more than 12 years of service in the Forces.

"She did mention that it was the first time that she had gotten a medal and she was very honoured," said Minhas.

Picking Minhas for the role

Minhas was joined at the meeting on Wednesday by commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Moody, who hand-picked her for the role, despite her lack of military experience.

Typically, honoraries come from within the regimental family someone who had served and typically held a higher rank. But Moody says they're trying to change that.

"We're looking for honoraries that represent the communities that we serve and also represent the different aspects of Canada, not just the military," said Moody.

He says it all clicked for him when he was watching a friend on Dragons' Den when he saw Minhas and realized she was an ideal candidate. So he reached out.

"When you have someone coming into the role that has a different experience than the military, and with her vast business background, it's very helpful for us."

When Minhas received the initial email from Moody, she says she thought it was spam. She was about to delete the email when her brother convinced her to respond, just in case it was real.

"I was definitely not only honoured, but I was really excited to take on the role and to bring a different perspective to it."

Increasing diversity in the Forces

According to an email statement from the Canadian Armed Forces, their goal is to have women represent a quarter of their members by 2026.

So far this fiscal year, their regular force has enrolled 471 females representing 14.6 per cent of total enrolments. That compares to a total of 14.4 per cent of female enrolments the previous fiscal year.

That's where Minhas comes in with her role to recruit more diverse members and make the organization more representative of Canada's population.

For Minhas, that doesn't stop at gender. It also includes ethnicity, age, experience, education and more.

"I think that diversity can look like a lot of different things, but at the end of the day, it really always is what separates top organizations from mediocre ones," said Minhas.

With less than two weeks of experience on the job, Minhas says she doesn't have a set recruitment plan yet. But she's looking forward to figuring it out when she returns from her trip to Buckingham Palace.

"The bar is definitely set high," she said with a laugh. "I think it's definitely a great kickoff to the next couple of years."