Lisa Campbell leaving Charlottetown for Canadian Space Agency

Lisa Campbell got a new job on Thursday she was named as the first woman to lead the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Campbell has been living in Charlottetown since 2018 working with Veterans Affairs Canada. Soon she will leave the province to take on her new role.

"I am thrilled. It is a real honour and I am looking forward to getting started on September 14th," she told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin.

Campbell takes over as the CSAcharts a new direction in space exploration, partly through a partnership with the international community.

"We're seeing governments and the private sector around the world investing heavily in space because it really is a massive opportunity, not just for space exploration in science, but also to solve some of our problems here on earth," she said.

"The speed of commercial satellite deployment, implementation of faster communication technologies and the onset of really exciting interplanetary missions are augmenting the role of data in space industries."

Canada is working with other countries on the Lunar Gateway project, which aims to build a space station intended to orbit the moon. The CSA calls the station a stepping stone for potential missions to Mars.

Campbell said it will be a big change going from Veterans Affairs Canada to the CSA but she said her prior experience will help her in the role.

"I worked for three years as the assistant deputy minister of defence and marine procurement acquiring all the equipment that the Canadian Armed Forces, the coast guard, need to operate," she said.

It's home. It really feels like home. I've developed friendships, really good relationships." Lisa Campbell

"So I know the aerospace industry quite well," she said. "I look forward to reaching out to them and working with them."

Campbell said it will be tough to leave the Island behind.

"I am so pleased I had the chance to make the Island my home," she said. "It's home. It really feels like home. I've developed friendships, really good relationships."

Campbell said P.E.I. will always "hold a special place," in her heart.

As the first woman to lead the CSA, she said she hopes other women are inspired to pursue a career in space.

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