Lieutenant Commander Nicole Robichaud welcomes members of the Liberian Coast Guard aboard Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Moncton for training with Royal Candian Navy off the coast of Monrovia, Liberia, Africa March 25, 2017. (Corporal Ryan Moulton Formation Imaging Services HS77-2017-0083-0923)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

international women's day

Red Deerian turned Navy Commander encourages young women to have self-belief

Mar 13, 2021 | 6:39 PM

Commander Nicole Robichaud has always believed she could be a leader, even in the Royal Canadian Navy where top roles are and have always been male-dominated.

Robichaud, a self-described ‘base brat,’ spent her teen years in Red Deer, graduating from Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School. Her father was a firefighter in the Army.

Now 18 years as a member of this country’s Maritime Forces, and many completed assignments domestically and abroad, she’s set to become the woman in charge of the HMCS Margaret Brooke, an Arctic offshore patrol vessel designed for sovereignty-related missions in the north.

Her accomplishments and career thus far were highlighted by Maritime Forces Atlantic on social media ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8.

“To be where I am means I’ve worked hard throughout my career, and to be the first commanding officer of this ship – a ship that hasn’t even been delivered to the Navy yet – I’m overwhelmed and honoured,” says Robichaud, who also attended Red Deer College and then the U of A where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Forestry.

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“My message to young females is if there’s something you want to do, go and do it. Give it a try before giving up on it, because there’s nothing a woman can’t do just as well if not better than our counterparts.”

In Robichaud’s mind, one of the biggest hurdles for young women is simply a lack of self-efficacy.

“There aren’t a lot of females in leadership positions right now, but there are a lot of strong women in the ranks, and we’re starting to see more in leadership. It’s just a matter of time before we see quite a more diverse workforce in the Navy,” she believes.

“This is a tough trade, and this doesn’t just pertain to the military, but with any kind of job you do, if you want to do it well, there are some sacrifices you have to make, and it’s a lot of hard work.”

Cdr. Nicole Robichaud is shown here in Feb. 2021 while onboard HMCS Harry DeWolf and navigating the ship through ice floes in the north. (Royal Canadian Navy)

For Robichaud, it’s about not seeing her family, much of which is in Red Deer.

“There’s no Navy in Alberta,” she quips. “I’ve lived in in B.C., Ottawa and now Halifax, so that’s my sacrifice, but the hard work behind it all does pay off.”

Asked which woman in the world most inspires her, Robichaud points to her mother, who went from being a stay-at-home parent sans driver’s license, to going into the workforce and raising two strong, independent daughters, she shares.

“I got my strength and work ethic from my mom, so I consider her my role model.”

When Robichaud was 13 and new to Red Deer, she joined the 126 Red Deer Sea Cadets, with a stern warning from her mother that if she was going to, it required a commitment of more than two weeks.

That led Robichaud to joining the Navy in 2002 as a Naval Cadet, eventually reaching the rank of Commander in 2020.

In 2009, she served as Navigating Officer of HMCS Winnipeg. On that voyage, which she calls eye-opening, her crew encountered pirates in the Gulf of Aden off Africa’s east coast between Yemen and Djibouti. Much of the work done overseas is relationship building, she says.

In 2016, Robichaud was Commanding Officer of the HMCS Moncton, and then was Executive Officer on the HMCS Fredericton from 2018-2020 prior to her latest promotion.

“What drove me or led me to the Forces is that the opportunities are endless,” she adds. “There is constant learning, and opportunity to progress. If you’re interested in adventure and challenges, go ahead and try it. Any person who joins will find the outcomes quite rewarding.”

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