Ontario premier leads students in fun run

Kathleen Wynne (fourth from left), the premier of Ontario, Canada, jogs with a group of students in Shanghai Tuesday at the Run for Fun. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

At 7:30 am October 28, more than three dozen students from the Canadian International School Kunshan (CISK) and Yew Chung International School of Shanghai (YCIS Shanghai) joined Kathleen Wynne, the premier of Ontario, Canada, on a 3.5-kilometer run in Shanghai Jing'an Workers' Stadium.

Katherine Lai was the student ambassador of the day's event. Lai graduated from YCIS Shanghai last year. She represents a new phenomenon: Canadian children growing up in China. They speak perfect English and Chinese, and they have good intercultural communication skills. As the student ambassador, Lai gave a welcome speech to Wynne.

"I believe that physical fitness is an important part of a healthy life in every way. I am especially happy to see young people involved in these good habits. I try to run most mornings," Wynne said. "I am impressed at the friendship between China and Ontario. The reason why we are here is that we have such a good friendship with China and we have so many partnerships. One of the partnerships is in education, in sharing our culture."

Wynne said there are many students in Ontario who are from China. She also met some student representatives from Ontario in Shanghai. "Education is a wonderful way to develop an understanding. It is about business. It is about those business connections, but it is also about human relationships," she said.

CISK was established three years ago, and it is building a new campus in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. The K-12 school follows the same curriculum as students in Ontario and is open to students as young as 3 years old. CISK has about 120 students, with each class limited to a maximum of 20 students. "The new campus will open in September next year, and the aim is to have 2,000 students," said Ian Hornsby, CISK's principal.

Retired football players Pu Wei and Bai Lili from the China National Women's Football Team and expats from the Canadian community in Shanghai also participated in the run with Wynne.

This trip marks Wynne's first trade mission to China. She plans to visit several other cities in China and establish cooperation with Chinese companies. She is also seeking investment from China to create more jobs in Ontario.