“I believe that safety is for everyone, regardless of their role in an organization or even outside of the workplace. Safety is an attitude; it involves recognizing our daily responsibility and opportunity to make a positive impact in someone else’s life.” – Candace Carnahan.
Candace Carnahan is an Inspirational Speaker at Candace Carnahan Motivational Speaking Inc. She is a prominent advocate for improving safety cultures in organizations. Having experienced the negative impact of unsafe workplaces, she understands how they can affect lives deeply. Candace shares her valuable life lessons to inspire people to overcome the obstacles that limit their efficiency. She also highlights the positive attitudes and behaviors that promote success in personal and professional areas.
The Inspiring Journey of Tragedy to Transformation
Candace Carnahan is 46 years old and lost her leg in a workplace incident which inspired her to become a speaker on health, safety, resilience, and psychological safety. She works worldwide, sharing her story and helping companies improve their safety cultures. Her motto is: Make it personal, make it matter, make it safe.
Her journey as a motivational speaker began shortly after her injury when, at just 21, she was invited to speak to high school students in her local area. She accepted the invitation out of a desire to help prevent what happened to her from happening to another young person. As she continued to share her story, she recognized the importance of empowering others to connect with their own experiences. A guiding principle for her is that “sharing stories saves lives.” When she speaks at companies, she encourages employees to share their own experiences, reinforcing that their stories are important, no matter when they have occurred.
This sharing of stories keeps her motivated and reminds her that there is always more work to do. Problems like texting while driving are just as dangerous if not more so, than drinking and driving, showing the ongoing need for awareness and education. In the end, it all comes down to caring, accountability, and empowerment. Finally, an overarching theme she comes back to is that of personal accountability and empowerment. She stresses the importance of standing up for oneself – “if you receive an answer that doesn’t satisfy you, don’t hesitate to ask again.”
Inspiring Safety Across All Platforms
Candace Carnahan uses her personal injury story to inspire safer working conditions for others. The way she delivers her message varies depending on her audience. She is comfortable speaking in high-level boardrooms to executives about leadership and the importance of making safety personal. Then, she transitions to delivering presentations directly on job sites, where she engages with workers in a “boots on the ground” setting. Candace also speaks to large groups of high school students and presents on international stages to health and safety leaders from around the world.
“Large or small, I think safety is for all, and everyone has the opportunity to do their part to ensure that all workers come home safe at the end of each day,” she says.
In addition to her live speeches, Candace expanded her reach during the pandemic by creating online presentations. Now, Candace Carnahan Motivational Speaking Inc. offers pre-recorded presentations called “Candace on Demand.” This option allows companies with smaller budgets or specific scheduling needs to utilize her recorded presentations to engage their workforce.
Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Approach
One of the initial challenges Candace faced as a motivational speaker was working with organizations that expected a one-size-fits-all approach to workplace safety. They often expected a single solution to promote safety awareness. However, Candace understands that safety is not just a single initiative from top management; it requires contributions from everyone, consistently and every day. One of her key beliefs is that “if we take care of the little things, the bigger issues will take care of themselves.”
A Safety Program for Students and Young Workers
“This was a labor of love for me, especially since I was injured as a young worker,” she says.
Candace believes the program is successful because she intentionally included young people in its development. Her videographer and director are very talented, resulting in video quality that is far superior to what is typically available in the industry. Additionally, the team collaborated with experts to review the questions and content of the segments, ensuring they align with the curriculum taught in schools across Canada.
Empowering the Next Generation in Schools
The business began with a small project in New Brunswick, Canada, where the “Step Up Your Safety” program is being introduced. WorkSafe New Brunswick is funding the program, and the education department is incorporating it into the Grade 9 curriculum. The founding partner of her program is a group in Saskatchewan called Service Hospitality, which helped fund its creation in that province. She has since customized the program for wider use. For example, in New Brunswick, it will be included in a personal wellness course.
Traditionally, safety programs were limited to co-op classes or those with a work component. She has been advocating for this program to be part of the mandatory curriculum because it covers more than just workplace safety; it also focuses on awareness, change, respect, inclusion, and resilience.
Currently, any school program that includes a workplace component requires schools to vet employers to ensure safety. However, this only reaches a small percentage of students. Many young people may work in environments where their guardians are unaware of the risks they face or how employers might be doing things the wrong way. It is crucial that this program is accessible to all students in the school system.
Reaching Diverse Workforces Through Innovation
To stay innovative and competitive in her business, Candace Carnahan adapts to changing market conditions and the needs of her audience. Fortunately, the work she has been doing has been ahead of its time, and the industry is catching up. Topics like psychological safety, which were once viewed with skepticism, are now becoming more accepted. Many individuals in her field, such as injured workers and workplace injury survivors, are doing remarkable work by sharing their stories.
“What sets me apart is that I am a woman in a typically male-dominated space, particularly when addressing injuries in industries like mining and milling,” she says.
Over the past five years, Candace has developed programs that enhance her messages. This provides employers who invest in her services with additional resources and helps keep their teams motivated and empowered. She has also created videos for organizations that may lack the resources to bring in a speaker, offering them an alternative solution. Ultimately, she wants the organizations she works with to see safety as an investment rather than a cost. It’s crucial for them to view it as a necessary commitment to their workforce.
One of her strengths is her communication skills. She enjoys talking to people and really understanding their needs and how those needs are changing. No technology can replace the time spent connecting with another person to understand their challenges. Her challenge is to take what she hears from various industries and figure out how she can help.
One innovation she is currently experimenting with is AI. She sees it as a powerful tool and is starting to use it to translate some of her programs and resources into other languages. This will help her reach more people and meet the needs of clients who employ workers whose first language is not English.
Connecting with Audiences Through Authenticity
The reason for Candace’s long-lasting success as a motivational speaker is her authenticity. She doesn’t use slides or PowerPoint presentations; instead, she customizes her message for each employer based on their specific needs. While her story stays the same, she adjusts her focus and key points to address the unique challenges faced by her clients, which keeps her relevant and successful.
Candace also looks for ways to connect everyday experiences to safety. For example, she talks about the importance of gratitude and keeping a positive attitude. She often shares a light-hearted story about discovering she could get half-price pedicures after losing her leg, using humor to engage her audience.
She believes that practicing gratitude directly contributes to safety. When people come from a place of gratitude, they tend to be more alert, aware, and focused. This increased awareness helps them notice unsafe behaviors, identify hazards, and respond to potential dangers.
Making Decisions with Family in Mind
When making decisions and taking risks, Candace Carnahan tries to consider the impact on her family.
“I’m not perfect; I still find myself doing things I shouldn’t, such as cutting corners when I’m running late or not being my best self in stressful situations,” she admits.
Candace strives to align her actions with the message she shares on stage. She makes a conscious effort to practice what she preaches, avoiding the contradiction of saying one thing to her audience while doing the opposite in her personal life.
Empowering Emotional Safety in Male-Dominated Industries
Candace Carnahan Motivational Speaking Inc. has changed the traditional ways of working in industries like mining and pulp and paper, which are often dominated by men. Candace believes that her presence encourages people to feel more comfortable discussing their emotions and being truthful. She emphasizes that “you can’t leave your problems at the door; if you have a conflict at home, it’s going to affect your work.”
Her work helps people realize that it’s okay to talk about personal issues at work. Addressing these concerns is more beneficial than letting them distract from work, which can lead to accidents or mistakes. Candace Carnahan believes her business is unique for several reasons. First, she was injured in an industrial setting, specifically in a male-dominated workplace.
Even now, when she travels to large manufacturing plants across North America, many of the workforces she addresses are still predominantly male. The fact that she is a woman who was injured in their type of work surprises the workers and grabs their attention. This connection works in her favor; when they see her, they think of their wives, daughters, or sisters, which changes their perspective.
When a company decides to bring in a speaker, they are intentionally trying to change the traditional way of doing things. Her role is to present a new perspective to the workforce, something different from what they are used to hearing. This fresh approach re-energizes the workers and motivates them to take safety seriously and consider new ways of thinking, depending on the specific needs of their workplace.
Advice for Fellow Motivational Speakers
Candace Carnahan’s advice for aspiring motivational speakers is to speak from the heart.
“Avoid making up stories or content. Instead, try to connect the topic to something personal that you feel comfortable talking about. This authenticity will help you share your message more effectively. When you speak from the heart, you can’t go wrong.”

Company Overview –
Featured Person | Candace Carnahan, Inspirational Speaker |
Company Name | Candace Carnahan Motivational Speaking Inc |
Founded Year | 2007 |
Company Headquarters | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
Featured Person’s LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/candace-carnahan123/?originalSubdomain=ca |
Company URL | https://candacecarnahan.com/ |