Congratulations to Dalton McGuinty (LLB ’81) on his appointment to the Order of Ontario. The Order, the province’s highest honour, recognizes those who have left a lasting legacy both within Ontario and Canada, and around the world.
The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, lieutenant governor of Ontario and chancellor of the Order of Ontario, announced the 21 new appointees to the Order in Toronto on February 27, saying, “Members of the Order of Ontario exemplify, individually and collectively, the best qualities of good citizenship. Through their voluntary service, creativity, and the relentless pursuit of excellence, they demonstrate how we in Ontario are working to build a more just and sustainable future.” The lieutenant governor will honour the new members during an investiture ceremony at Queen’s Park in Toronto on March 11.
In addition to being a uOttawa Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, alumnus and member of the Common Law Honour Society, McGuinty served three consecutive terms from 2003 to 2013 as the 24th premier of Ontario.
Under McGuinty, the Ontario government prioritized education, health care, the environment and the economy. Student test scores rose by 17%, health care wait times went from the longest to the shortest in Canada, and in the largest greenhouse gas reduction initiative in North America, Ontario closed its coal plants. The marginal effective tax rate on new business investment was cut in half while a value-added tax was adopted to make Ontario more competitive economically. McGuinty’s government also created the Greenbelt Region, a permanently protected area of green space, farmland, forests, wetlands and watersheds in Southern Ontario, and introduced full-day kindergarten.
Since his successful political career ended, McGuinty has studied and taught leadership. He was a fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and is currently a senior fellow at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance, in addition to sitting on the boards of many organizations.
Sources:
https://news.ontario.ca/mtc/en/2020/02/21-appointees-named-to-ontarios-highest-honour-1.html
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dalton-mcguinty
https://carleton.ca/sppa/people/mcguinty-dalton/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenbelt_(Golden_Horseshoe)