Welcome To The Charles Osuji Foundation
Dr. Charles Osuji: A Journey of Resilience, Leadership, and Purpose
From humble beginnings in Nigeria, Dr. Charles Osuji LL.D. (Hon.), C.Dir. has lived a story defined by perseverance, excellence, and purpose. Guided by the unwavering support of his family—who invested in his education and sponsored his immigration to Canada—he arrived in Calgary determined to turn adversity into opportunity.
After facing more than 300 job rejections, his breakthrough came when Jim Smith, a Calgary lawyer, offered him a chance. That single opportunity became the foundation of an extraordinary journey: called to the Alberta Bar in 2014, becoming Partner in 2016, and by 2017, assuming full ownership of the firm that now bears both their names—Osuji & Smith Lawyers.
Under his visionary leadership, Osuji & Smith Lawyers has grown from a small two-lawyer office into one of Canada’s fastest-growing mid-sized law firms, with more than 40 staff and offices in Calgary, Ottawa, Yukon, and Dubai. The firm serves clients in employment law, business law, real estate, family law, immigration, and litigation, and proudly reflects the diversity of its community—its team speaks over 30 languages and represents a mosaic of cultures and professional experiences.
Recognized as a multi-award-winning, full-service law firm, Osuji & Smith’s success mirrors the resilience and inclusiveness of its leader. Dr. Osuji himself has received over 120 local, national, and international recognitions, including Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers, Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, and an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from Mount Royal University, among others.
Complementing his business leadership, Dr. Osuji holds the Chartered Director (C.Dir.)designation from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, reflecting his deep commitment to governance excellence, ethical leadership, and corporate accountability. He actively serves on several boards and advisory committees, bringing a principled, values-driven perspective to organizational governance and social impact.
True to his roots and his calling to lift others, Dr. Osuji is the Founder of the award-winning Foot in the Door Initiative (FIDI), a mentorship and training platform that has supported more than 300 locally and internationally trained lawyers in Canada. Rooted in his own early struggles as an immigrant lawyer with no local connections, FIDI was born from his resolve that no one else should face such barriers alone. It provides the mentorship, guidance, and opportunity he once longed for—creating a pipeline of diverse talent that continues to enrich Alberta’s legal profession and Canadian society at large.
The Charles Osuji Foundation is the natural extension of this same vision. It honors the mentors and family who opened doors for him and carries forward his belief that success finds its highest meaning in service to others. Through scholarships, entrepreneurial grants, and global education initiatives, Dr. Osuji is ensuring that the same doors once opened for him remain open for generations to come.
NCAC Gala Partnership
The Charles Osuji Foundation: Building Legacies, Changing Narratives
The story of The Charles Osuji Foundation is inseparable from the personal journey of its founder — one marked by resilience, opportunity, and a deep sense of responsibility to give back.
As a young man in Nigeria, Dr. Charles Osuji’s path was shaped by the sacrifices of those who believed in him. From his parents to his elder brother, Rev. Fr. Dr. Tony Osuji, who paid for his education from primary school through law school, his eldest brother, Professor Joseph Osuji, who sponsored him to Canada, giving him the ultimate “foot in the door”, and his mentor, Jim Smith, who gave him a chance when no one else would, opening the doors of his law firm (now, Osuji & Smith Lawyers) to him after more than 300 rejections. He has also benefited from the support of the rest of his family, friends, colleagues and so many mentors within the Nigerian community in Canada. Each of these people invested in Dr. Osuji, and each act of generosity became the foundation upon which he has built his life and career.
When Dr. Charles Osuji stood on stage at the NCAC Gala in October 2024 to accept the association’s Distinguished Achievement Award, he announced the launch of The Charles Osuji Foundation with an initial donation of $10,000. That gift marked the beginning of a long-term commitment: to give at least $10,000 every year for the next 10 years, specifically through NCAC (labeled, the “Rise Together Grant”).That means $100,000 will flow directly into scholarships and entrepreneurial grants designed to uplift and support members of the community. This is in addition to other philanthropic goals of the Foundation in Canada, Nigeria and elsewhere, and his law firm’s not-for-profit, Foot in the Door Initiative (FIDI), which provides Canadian legal experience to internationally trained lawyers and immigrant lawyers in Canada.
The goal is simple but profound: to ensure that no student or entrepreneur in the community feels they must walk their path alone. The Foundation provides scholarships for Nigerian-Canadian students in law and pre-law programs, and grants for entrepreneurs within their first two years of business. These are the stages of life where support is most critical — when the journey is new, the risks are highest, and the encouragement of one person or one organization can make the difference between success and defeat.
But this is about more than money. It is about changing the narrative of what community associations represent. Too often, community associations are seen as places for cultural events, gatherings, “owambe” or symbolic gestures. Those are important, but they are not enough. Associations like NCAC must be conduits for tangible support and upliftment — practical engines of growth that channel the strength of the community into the lives of those who need it most.
Through this Foundation, Dr. Charles Osuji wants to show that it can be done. If established professionals, entrepreneurs, and executives harness their resources, community associations can become launch pads for the next generation of leaders, lawyers, doctors, business owners, accountants, engineers, teachers, innovators and other professionals. We can create a culture where success is not hoarded but shared; where the ladder climbed is firmly held for the person coming behind.
This is not just his responsibility. It is a shared responsibility. That is why Dr. Osuji challenges every established professional in the community — whether in business, medicine, engineering, academia, or the arts — to consider what they can give back. Not just in symbolic gestures, but in meaningful, measurable commitments that will empower someone else’s journey.
The Charles Osuji Foundation is his way of honouring those who invested in him, while ensuring that the cycle of generosity and upliftment continues. Through NCAC, he is privileged to plant seeds that will grow into futures brighter than we can imagine. His hope is that others will join him, so that together, the community can transform its association into a beacon of opportunity, a place where dreams are nurtured, and where no one is left behind.
In giving, we change not only the lives of others but the destiny of the community. That is the legacy Dr. Charles Osuji hopes to leave, and the invitation he extends to each of you.
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Rise Together Grant through The Charles Osuji Foundation!
“Community associations must be more than gatherings — they must be engines of opportunity. That is the vision behind this commitment.” — Dr. Charles Osuji