Monique Barrie has never needed to be in the spotlight. She deals in a more valuable currency: Human connection.
Before she directed films or built schools or filled our city with flowers, Monique Barrie had a paper route. The job required you to be 12; Monique was 8. When her father looked them in the eye and told them his daughter was something different, they believed him. So did she. She didn’t just deliver the news. She spent time with seniors on her route, listening to their stories over hot chocolate. For them, she wasn’t just the paper girl, she was their visitor. She learned, before most people learn anything, that the real product was never the paper, it is the relationship.
Today she is a Film Director, Producer, serial entrepreneur and intentional philanthropist. Her focus on connection has become the thread running through all of Monique’s business ventures. “I made sure to treat all of my customers really well. Even at a young age, I understood that customer service was important, but I think it was the authentic relationships that inspired me. For me, it’s about real connection,” says Monique.
“People look at me and they don’t quite know where to put me because I don’t fit in any particular box”
“It was the authentic relationships that drove me.”
She took the money she earned delivering papers and used it to invest in future business ventures that mattered to her and her community.Even at a young age she showed a strong entrepreneurial instinct and a drive to building something meaningful in her community.
Monique being Monique, she never stops at the first open door. She enrolled in a dental hygiene program. “I started out in dental assisting and eventually went back and finished dental hygiene, and throughout that process I was taking breaks and trying different things,” she says. “Real estate was always an area of interest, and I had retail clothing shops in northern Ontario before I moved to Calgary in 1997.”
Long before she was making films, Monique Barrie was making history. A Maclean’s magazine article changed the trajectory of her life and lured her West. It showcased Alberta as a province rich with opportunity, especially in the dental field. She left home and launched her entrepreneurial journey in Calgary. There, the young professional honed her skills as a hygienist, mastered the business side of the profession and in 2009, struck out on her own. At PURE Dental Hygiene, she embedded the people centric philosophy that had always guided her, taking the time to get to know her clients by name and by their stories. A brand built on storytelling. She grew the practice for a decade while also consulting and helping others establish their own practices using her efficient systems. But Monique has never been someone who stays inside the lines of one industry. As a leader of leaders, she attracted strong professionals who made it possible for her to step back and look ahead.
In 2012, that line of sight led Monique to consider the potential of the nursery school her daughter attended. Aspen Hill Montessori, a small school with a class size of 18, operated out of a small church in West Calgary. As a single mother, she wanted not only the best care possible for her child, but for all children in her community. When the opportunity arose, Monique bought it. Applying the same formula she used at PURE, she began building – developing its curriculum and philosophy with intention and care.
“We’re far more than a child-minding centre where children play with toys. We have an individualized, nature-focused approach that follows each child’s curiosity, letting them guide us, while we support their learning along the way,” she says.
Fascinated by how children learn – and convinced there was a better way to support them and their families – she made the decision to shift her focus from full time dental hygiene and devote herself to reimagining the childcare experience.
Grounded in a strong Montessori foundation, Monique began developing an approach that blended traditional Montessori principles with emergent, child-led practices. At the time, this individualized and responsive approach to pedagogy, grounded in children’s interests and family realities, was far from the norm. But Monique saw an opportunity to better serve the families of West Calgary.
She listened closely to the needs of her community: parents balancing demanding careers, expatriate families finding their footing in a new country, single parents, and later, frontline workers navigating Monique Barrie with Paul Brandt and the rest of the uncertainty of COVID. Aspen Hill Montessori continually evolved in response, guided by the belief that education should grow alongside the children and families it serves.
What started as a small program has grown into a thriving community. Today, Aspen Hill Montessori serves nearly 200 families in West Calgary. Through it all, the heart of the school has remained the same: a deep connection to families, many of whom have grown alongside it, from infancy through their child’s earliest years of learning.
As she did with her dental hygiene practice, Monique built strong leadership within her schools, freeing her to explore something new. In 2016, she opened a boutique flower shop in Calgary’s Aspen Landing, embracing a creative venture simply for the experience and the joy of trying something different.
No matter the industry, Monique’s definition of success has always centred on impact, not profit. From a dental chair to a church lobby to a flower shop, each venture put community first. That philosophy would soon find its most powerful expression yet.
After selling her practice and the flower shop, Monique shifted her focus to a meaningful new way to support and amplify community voices. Through LHI Productions and its Indigenous branch, Aagimaak Productions, Monique and her team produce short films and documentaries that continue to generate widespread recognition. In 2025, only one year into the film industry, Calgary Arts Development recognised Monique with the RBC Emerging Artist Award as one of Canadian film’s most compelling new voices.
Leaning into her unique talent for building and giving, Monique has rapidly emerged as a powerful force at the intersection of film and philanthropy, championing underrepresented BIPOC and Indigenous artists and bringing socially impactful stories to life. She executive produced the short film The Saint & the Bear, which was quickly acquired by CBC Gem, one of Canada’s most prominent streaming platforms. The festival circuit followed, with short films Immortal Embrace and The Hunter and His Apprentice earning recognition nationally and internationally.
Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women
Tourism Calgary International Business
Development Manager
“I have gotten to know Monique over the years since I’ve been in this role and everyone who knows her—first off, you’re instantly drawn to her because she’s incredible—but Monique, you are a dynamic, brilliant, beautiful woman, and it has been a joy getting to know you.” says The Honourable Tanya Fir
Her first foray into television, Renegade Fever, was nominated for 3 Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA) awards. In just a short time, her work has gained remarkable traction. A strong pipeline of documentaries currently in production celebrates legendary chuckwagon racer Todd Baptiste, Calgary optometrist Dr. Diana Monea, and award winning country music artist Paul Brandt’s fight against human trafficking. Monique tells human stories that can only be told by someone who has spent a lifetime building trust with her community.
Telling stories and leaving a legacy that uplifts communities is completely on brand for Monique. This Woman Who Builds continues to enter new industries with a fresh perspective and dogged determination to leave each one better than she found it.
“People look at me and they don’t quite know where to put me because I don’t fit in any particular box. I like that. I wouldn’t want to,” Monique says. “I feel like I have a destiny to help others. I don’t have to be Atlas and carry the world on my shoulders, but if I can give back, help others and come up with innovative and trailblazing ideas and ways of doing things, then I should.”
Monique has built a career defined not by industry but by impact. She started with a wagon and a paper route at eight years old. She hasn’t stopped building since. Whatever she builds next, you can be sure of one thing. Someone, somewhere, will feel seen.
“If I can give back, help others and come up with innovative and trailblazing ideas and ways of doing things, then I should.”
Words Monique Lives By:
Two books shaped the way Monique approaches life and work: Brett Wilson’s Redefining Success and Alex Sarian’s The Audacity of Relevance. From them, she distilled a personal blueprint for meaningful impact:
• Entrepreneurship. She’d rather leap and risk failure than never jump at all, embracing opportunities and bold ideas with courage.
• Marketing. Every client she’s ever had found her through reputation and word of mouth, proving that authenticity and results speak louder than any campaign.
• Philanthropy. Growing up without means instilled in her the drive to give back generously, ensuring that every success uplifts others.
• Relevance. She measures success not just by personal gain, but by meaningful engagement – making sure her work truly serves and uplifts the communities around her.
