David Charles Onley (born June 12, 1950) is a former Canadian journalist who served as the 28th

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 ...

David Onley Appointed Next Lt.-Gov. Of Ontario
, www.citynews.ca, June 10, 2007 from 2007 until 2014. Prior to his viceregal appointment, Onley was a television journalist. He worked primarily for

Citytv Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television ...

as a weather reporter, before moving on to cover science and technology stories. Later on, he worked with the 24-hour news station CablePulse 24 as a news anchor and host of a weekly technology series, ''

Home Page A home page (or homepage) is the main web page of a website. The term may also refer to the start page shown in a web browser when the application first opens. Usually, the home page is located at the root of the website's domain or subdomain ...

''. A published author, he was founding president of the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada. His seven-year term as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario makes him the province's third longest serving viceroy since

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical iss ...

, behind his successor

Elizabeth Dowdeswell Violet Elizabeth Dowdeswell (née Patton; born November 9, 1944) is a Canadian public servant who currently serves as the lieutenant governor of Ontario, the 29th since Canadian Confederation. She is the viceregal representative of the King ...

(2014-present) and

Albert Edward Matthews Albert Edward Matthews (May 17, 1873 – December 16, 1949) was the 16th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Matthews was born in Lindsay, Ontario. He worked as an investment broker in Toronto and rose to the position of director of various ...

(1937–1946).

Early life

Onley was born in Midland, Ontario, and raised in West Hill on Orchard Park Drive in Scarborough, now part of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. He was educated at the

University of Toronto Scarborough The University of Toronto Scarborough, also known as U of T Scarborough or UTSC, is one of the three campuses that make up the tri-campus system of the University of Toronto. Located in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the campus is set up ...

, served as student council president, and graduated with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

. Beginning at the age of three, Onley battled with

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sy ...

, resulting in partial paralysis. However, as a result of extensive physical therapy, he regained the use of his hands and arms, and partial use of his legs. Onley is able to walk using leg braces and canes or crutches, but he generally prefers to get around using his electric scooter. He is able to drive a car using hand controls for acceleration and braking.

Career

Onley began his career in radio, hosting a weekly science show for Toronto radio station CFRB, subsequently joining the CKO network in 1983. He then joined Citytv in 1984 as

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

specialist, a position he held until 1989. In a 2004 interview with Link Up, a Toronto employment agency for people with disabilities, Onley stated that From 1989 to 1995, he was the first news anchor on the then-new ''

Breakfast Television Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...

'', Citytv's morning show. He served as

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

specialist for Citytv and CablePulse 24 from 1994 to 1999. Onley became an anchor on CP24, when the station launched in 1999, and both hosted and produced ''

'' on CP24. He was one of Canada's first on-air television personalities with a visible disability; he uses a mobility device due to his paralysis. Camera shots began with only upper body shots, but Onley demanded that the shot include him in his mobility device. In honour of his contributions to the advancement of disability issues in Canada, he has received awards from the Terry Fox Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Clarke Institute's Courage to Come Back award. He was appointed Chair of the Accessibility Standards Advisory Council to the Minister of Community and Social Services in 2005. He was most recently inducted into the

Scarborough Walk of Fame Scarborough Town Centre (STC) is a shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Central to the Scarborough City Centre in the former city of Scarborough, it is adjacent to Scarborough Centre station, the Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal and the C ...

in 2006. Onley wrote ''Shuttle: A Shattering Novel of Disaster in Space'', a bestselling novel about space travel, published in 1981. It was nominated by the Periodical Distributors of Canada as book of the year. He was founding president of the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada. Onley returned to his acting roots, with a cameo appearance in the sixth season of the Canadian TV series ''

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick ...

''. The episode, "The Ghost of Queens Park" aired in Canada on February 25, 2013. In it he played the eighth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Sir Oliver Mowat.

As Lieutenant Governor

Onley's appointment as Lieutenant Governor was announced on July 10, 2007; he was privately informed of this after a July 4, 2007, taping of ''Home Page'': "I just had reached the top of the

Don Valley Parkway The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway ...

... and there was no place to pull over. And when the Prime Minister of your country calls, all you can try to do is stay in the same lane, avoid any fender-benders and have a meaningful conversation, which I did." He was sworn in on September 5, 2007, at Queen's Park in Toronto. As the province's first Lieutenant Governor with a disability, Onley said he would use his vice-regal position to help remove physical barriers to Ontario's 1.5 million people with disabilities, as well as focus on other issues affecting the disabled, including obstacles to employment and housing. Onley also stated, in his installation speech, that he would expand on his immediate predecessor

James Bartleman James Karl Bartleman (born 24 December 1939) is a former Canadian diplomat and author who served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 2002 to 2007. Bartleman grew up in the Muskoka town of Port Carling, and he is a member of th ...

's First Nations literacy initiatives, his aim being to see computers on every student's desk in northern schools. For his installation, Onley approached the legislature on his electric scooter, however he ascended the Throne on foot, using leg braces and

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are ...

s. Onley also travelled to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

to represent the Queen and Canada at the

2008 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony The 2008 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium on September 6, 2008 just two weeks after the end of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The event was themed "One World, One Dream" and "Transcendence, Integration, Equa ...

. Onley delivered his last speech from the throne to the Ontario Legislative Assembly on July 3, 2014; his last full day in office was September 22, 2014 with his successor sworn in the following afternoon. Onley and his wife resided in their Scarborough home during his vice-regal tenure, as Ontario is one of three provinces that does not have an official vice-regal residence.Henderson, Hellen; ''Toronto Star'': Incoming lieutenant-governor plans to smooth path for all; September 3, 2007
/ref> During Onley's mandate, he participated in 2550 engagements, during which he spoke to an estimated audience of over one million people.

Post-viceregal life

Onley was appointed as senior lecturer in the Department of Political Sciences at

, his alma mater. His appointment began on October 1, 2014. He also served as the University's Special Ambassador for the 2015 Pan American and

Parapan American Games The Parapan American Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities held every four years after every Pan American Games. The first Games were held in 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico. The 2003 Parapan American Ga ...

Personal life

He is married to Ruth Ann Onley, a Christian music performer. They have three sons, Jonathan, Robert and Michael. In late 2019, Onley was rushed to emergency after a brain scan revealed that he had a tumour the size of an orange at the front of his brain, which was successfully removed.

Honours and awards

Ribbon bar

Other distinctions

*He served as 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 ...

in his capacity of Lieutenant Governor. *He is the Honorary Colonel of

25 Field Ambulance 25 (Toronto) Field Ambulance (25 Fd Amb), formerly 25 (Toronto) Medical Company, is a Canadian Forces Primary Reserve (militia) medical unit in Toronto, Ontario. The company-strength formation is part of 4 Health Services Group, which is headqua ...

in a personal capacity. *Midland has a David Onley Park, dedicated on his 63rd birthday (June 12, 2013).

Bibliography

* ''Shuttle: A Shattering Novel of Disaster in Space'' (1981) (book), (audio edition)

References

External links

Biography of David Onley – The Canadian Encyclopedia

David Onley's End of Mandate Report
(PDF file)
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onley, David Living people 1950 births Canadian Protestants Canadian science fiction writers Canadian television journalists Citytv people Journalists from Ontario Knights of Justice of the Order of St John Lieutenant Governors of Ontario Members of the Order of Ontario Writers from Ontario People from Midland, Ontario Canadian Disability Hall of Fame University of Toronto alumni People with polio Canadian politicians with disabilities Canadian male novelists 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian politicians Members of the Order of Canada