Honorary Doctorate Recipient

Dr. Dalton McGuinty

Honorary Doctorate of Sacred Letters

Dalton McGuinty, a lawyer, served as Premier of Ontario, from 2003 to 2013. He led the Ontario Liberal Party to three successive election victories, a feat not achieved in his party in over 100 years.

 

Under Premier McGuinty's leadership, student test scores rose by 17% and Ontario became the first jurisdiction in North America to offer full-day kindergarten. Health care wait times fell from Canada's longest to its shortest. Ontario closed its coal plants in the single largest greenhouse gas reduction initiative in the Americas. The McGuinty government created Ontario's Greenbelt, the world's largest protected urban green space. And, to make Ontario more competitive, the province adopted a value-added tax, the HST, and created Canada's first ministry of Research and Innovation where McGuinty himself served as minister.

 

Since leaving politics, Mr. McGuinty has been actively engaged in business and philanthropy. He is on the Board of Directors of Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. and Pomerleau Inc. He serves as Special Advisor to the CEO of D2L Corporation and as an advisor to Ontario business startups. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and the Rideau Hall Foundation.

 

Mr. McGuinty served as a Fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and at the University of Toronto School of Public Policy and Governance. He is presently a Fellow at Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration. 

 

Dalton married his high-school sweetheart, Terri Taylor. Together, they have four children and five grandchildren.

“As Huntington University celebrates a 60-year legacy of academic excellence and civic leadership in Northern Ontario, I am honoured to receive an Honorary Doctorate from the institution. I would like to thank the Huntington University Board of Regents, as well as Dr. Kevin McCormick, President and Vice-Chancellor, for this recognition.

Since 1960, Huntington University has espoused the importance of its core values of academic excellence, civic leadership and community service beyond the walls of the university. In these challenging and unique times, it’s inspiring to see an institution stay true to its guiding principles, while simultaneously leveraging innovative projects such as the Peruvian Canadian Institute to foster partnerships with various stakeholders, including Ontario-based and international educational partners, to support future growth and success in higher education.”