Violet Elizabeth Dowdeswell (née Patton; born November 9, 1944) is a Canadian public servant who currently serves as the

lieutenant governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province b ...

, the 29th since

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominio ...

. She is the viceregal representative of the King in Right of Ontario.

Early life

Violet Elizabeth Patton was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, on November 9, 1944, and moved with her family to Canada in 1947, settling in rural

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. Her father Desmond Granville Patton (1920–2008) was a

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...

minister. Dowdeswell married at a young age but soon divorced. She attended the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

and

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

and later became a teacher and university lecturer.

Career

Dowdeswell left teaching and entered public service as special assistant to

's deputy education minister for two years (1976-78), then working as deputy minister of culture and youth during the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

government of

Allan Blakeney Allan Emrys Blakeney (September 7, 1925April 16, 2011) was the tenth premier of Saskatchewan from 1971 to 1982, and leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP). Early life and career Born in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Blakeney took his ...

. She was then dismissed, along with other deputy ministers, after the Progressive Conservative government of Grant Devine took power in 1982. She held various positions in the federal public service in the 1980s, working at one point as assistant deputy minister at

Environment Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment ...

with responsibility for the Atmospheric Environment Service and negotiating the Framework Convention on Climate Change. She also led a public inquiry into Canada's unemployment benefits program and federal water policy. In 1992, Dowdeswell was selected to lead the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, serving a full four-year term and a one-year extension until she resigned in 1998. From 1998 to 2010, she was an adjunct professor at the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, while also serving as founding president and CEO of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. From 2010 until her appointment at Lieutenant Governor, she was the president and CEO of the

Council of Canadian Academies The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) (french: Conseil des académies canadiennes, CAC) was created to perform independent, expert assessments of the science that is relevant to important public issues. The CCA's assessment scope includes the na ...

As lieutenant governor

Dowdeswell was appointed lieutenant governor by

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

David Johnston on the advice of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

, who selected Dowdeswell from a shortlist devised by the

Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments The Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments was established on 4 November 2012 to assist the government of Canada (the Crown- in-Council) with the appointment of the Governor General of Canada, provincial lieutenant governors, and territoria ...

. On September 23, 2014, she was sworn in during a ceremony held at Queen's Park in Toronto. She is the third woman to serve the position, following

Pauline Mills McGibbon Pauline Mills McGibbon (21 October 1910 – 14 December 2001) served as the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1974 to 1980. In addition to being the first woman to occupy that position, she was also the first woman to serve as a v ...

and

Hilary Weston Hilary Mary Weston ( Frayne; born January 12, 1942) is an Irish–Canadian businesswoman and writer who served as the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1997 to 2002. During her five-year tenure, Weston focused on issues related to wome ...

. Dowdeswell declared in her installation address that she would not immediately espouse a particular area of focus during her time as lieutenant governor. Instead, she said she would engage the people of Ontario, listening to their concerns and ideas. She has since adopted sustainability and "Ontario in the world" as personal themes. In addition, Dowdeswell has called herself Ontario's unofficial "Storyteller-in-Chief". According to annual reports published on her office's website, Dowdeswell has conducted, on average, more than 700 public engagements yearly as lieutenant governor, as well as numerous visits abroad to the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark. Dowdeswell has visited all of Ontario's provincial electoral districts. On September 22, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the addition of Dowdeswell, alongside other Canadian lieutenant governors, to the country's so-called stop list banning entry to Russian territory.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

As lieutenant governor, Dowdeswell is entitled to be styled Her Honour

the Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certa ...

while in office and

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certa ...

for life.

Honours

;Appointments * May 24, 2012: Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

(OC) * November 26, 2014: Dame of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (DStJ) ** November 26, 2014present: Vice Prior of the Priory of Canada of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (while in office) * September 23, 2014: Member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is ad ...

(OOnt) ** September 23, 2014present: Chancellor of the Order of Ontario (while in office) ;Medals * June 18, 2012:

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

* November 18, 2020: Louie Kamookak Medal of the

Royal Canadian Geographical Society The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada—its people a ...

;Honorary appointments * September 23, 2014present: Colonel of the Regiment of

The Queen's York Rangers la, celer et audax, lit=swift and bold , colors = Green and amethyst blue , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = , march = "Braganza" , notable_commanders ...

(while in office) * September 23, 2014: Honorary Commissioner of the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorp ...

Honorary degrees

Dowdeswell has received several

honorary degrees An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from various universities in Canada and Europe. These include:

Arms

References

External links

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowdeswell, Elizabeth 1944 births Canadian educators Canadian women viceroys Canadian women diplomats Lieutenant Governors of Ontario Living people Northern Ireland emigrants to Canada Officers of the Order of Canada People from County Antrim Royal Canadian Geographical Society fellows Saskatchewan civil servants United Nations Environment Programme Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations University of Saskatchewan alumni University of Toronto faculty Utah State University alumni Women in Ontario politics 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Canadian officials of the United Nations