Jamaican-born economist, author and entrepreneur Keisha Blair has been named one of WXN’s Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 for 2026, adding another milestone to a career that has taken her from St Andrew and the University of the West Indies to the highest levels of Canadian economic policymaking.
Blair was recognised in WXN’s Professionals category, which honours women who have helped shape and advance their respective fields. Her recognition reflects a career spanning Canadian public service and international economic policy, as well as her work as the founder of the Holistic Wealth movement.
For Blair, however, the honour also connects two countries that have shaped her life.
“Jamaica is my birthplace, and will always be an important part of who I am. Canada is the country where I built much of my professional career,” she told Jamaicans.com. She described the award as representing “a journey between two countries that have both profoundly shaped my life.”
Jamaican Born and Raised
Born and raised in St. Andrew, Blair graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in 1993 before attending the University of the West Indies, Mona, where she double-majored in International Relations and Management Studies. A mock United Nations General Assembly during her university years helped fuel an early ambition to become a diplomat.
After graduating, she worked professionally in Jamaica for a year before moving to Canada to pursue a master’s degree in Public Policy at Carleton University in Ottawa. She later undertook further graduate studies at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and has now lived in Canada for 28 years.
Public service was also part of Blair’s upbringing. Her mother, Dr. Bernice Williams, served as an Assistant Chief Education Officer in Jamaica’s Ministry of Education, headed the English Department at Shortwood Teachers College and lectured at UWI. According to Blair, Williams was also among the first policy advisers selected and trained for the Jamaican Government’s first policy unit under former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
Jamaicans.com previously shared the story of Blair’s father, a Jamaican soldier whose military career included the unusual distinction of meeting Queen Elizabeth II twice.
Turning Personal Loss into Wealth
Before becoming an author and entrepreneur, Blair built a career in Canadian economic and public policy. As a Senior Advisor at the Privy Council Office during Justin Trudeau’s tenure, she says she became the first Black woman to lead Canada’s foreign direct investment file in support of the Prime Minister, helping to advance the country’s investment priorities at major international forums.
Her life took an unexpected turn when her first husband died suddenly at 34. Blair, then 31, was left to raise their two young children. The loss eventually led her to develop Holistic Wealth, a framework that considers financial security alongside physical and emotional health, relationships, purpose and resilience.
She returned to Jamaica with her children for a sabbatical, spending time in nature, reflecting and rebuilding their lives. She says the experience helped shape a philosophy that would eventually grow into her books, the Institute on Holistic Wealth and a wider movement.
Years later, Blair turned the home where she stayed into the Holistic Wealth Retreat in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, creating a space for rest, reflection and renewal. She also developed the Holistic Wealth Trail, a network connecting places associated with her journey and philosophy, including the Blue Mountains, Blue Lagoon in Portland and Port Royal.
For Blair, the work is also a way to give back to the country that played an important role in her healing, while positioning Jamaica as a destination for wellness and personal renewal as well as leisure.
Canada’s Most Powerful Women
Now in its 24th year, the Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards is WXN Media’s annual recognition of women whose leadership and achievements are making an impact across business, government, entrepreneurship and communities in Canada. Since its inception, the programme has recognised 1,940 women.
For 2026, 104 women were selected by an independent panel of judges across nine categories. Blair was named in the Professionals category, which recognises women who are professionals in practice and play leadership roles within their organisations. WXN highlighted her work as an economist, founder of the Institute on Holistic Wealth and pioneer of the Holistic Wealth framework, as well as her history-making role leading Canada’s foreign direct investment file in support of the Prime Minister.
Blair also joins a small group of Jamaican-born women to receive WXN’s Top 100 recognition. Her research identified the late community leader Kay Blair, honoured in 2004, and former Jamaica national swimming head coach Jacqueline Beckford-Henriques, recognised in 2021. Blair is the only Jamaican-born woman identified to date as an honouree in WXN’s Professionals category.
She will be honoured alongside the other 2026 recipients at the Top 100 Awards Gala in Toronto on November 26.
What Being ‘Powerful’ Means to Keisha
For Blair, the recognition is also a reflection of the setbacks that have shaped her journey and her understanding of power. After experiencing loss, rebuilding her life and turning those experiences into a body of work centred on resilience, she sees power as something that can emerge from life’s most difficult moments.
“Power is not what remains when life goes according to plan. Power is what you discover when the plan falls apart and you decide to build again,” she said on the Holistic Wealth Podcast.
It is a philosophy she now hopes to pass on to others: “If your success changes what’s possible for other people, then you’ve begun building a legacy.”
