SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Captain (Ret'd) Harpreet Chandi, MBE

Honourable senators, brace yourselves. Today I want to recognize someone who has made a habit of doing things most people would dismiss as impossible. I also believe that this person is an absolute rock star.

Retired British Army captain, physiotherapist and Member of the Order of the British Empire better known to many as “Polar Preet,” Harpreet Chandi has established a record that speaks for itself. She has crossed Antarctica solo multiple times. She holds four Guinness World Records. Most recently, she completed a 40-day solo trek across the Canadian Arctic, one of the harshest environments on the planet. She even met a polar bear who was determined to find out what tasty snack was in that tent.

Oh, the stories that Polar Preet could tell, and she is not done yet. Her next goal is to ski solo and unsupported to the North Pole. If successful, she will become the first woman, first Sikh, first Punjabi and first South Asian ever to complete solo expeditions to both the South Pole and the North Pole. So, I think it is fitting we welcome her today, during Sikh Heritage Month in Canada.

Her future goal almost sounds fictional until you remember that she is out there preparing for it currently, and it is quite a regime. What stands out to me is not only the magnitude of her achievements and goals, but also the mindset required to do it. Real endurance is not showy. It is an everyday effort. It is relentlessly preparing and maintaining focus when no one is looking. It is maintaining discipline when motivation fades. It involves making the right choices even when circumstances worsen — and, oh my, have they — and then doing it all over again.

Polar Preet speaks very openly about representation. She speaks about how many women, especially from immigrant and minority communities, face barriers and are told that certain spaces are not for them.

Her response has not been a slogan. It has been action. Her goal is to show that those barriers can be broken. In doing so, she breaks the path for others, including Canadians, because those same barriers exist here.

So, today, yes, we celebrate Polar Preet’s achievements, but we also recognize that she is leading by example. Role models like her matter because they make the distant feel attainable, especially for elite athletes.

We have similar role models right here in our chamber. Our colleagues Senator Marnie McBean’s and Senator Chantal Petitclerc’s Olympic and Paralympic journeys show Canadians what strong women of excellence and perseverance look like. There is power in their quiet resilience, courage without drama and ambition driven by effort, not selfishness.

While records can be broken and firsts can be surpassed, giving people something to believe in endures longer.

Therefore, I want to say thank you to Preet and to my colleagues for your example, your determination and for demonstrating what can be achieved when someone chooses to persevere.

Thank you.