Hon.David Onley, CM OOnt.

David was appointed Ontario”s 28th Lieutenant Governor in 2007 and held the office for seven years, making him the second-longest-serving Lieutenant Governor in the history of the province. Paralyzed by polio at age three, he adopted accessibility as the over-arching theme of his term of office, attending and speaking at more than 267 accessibility-related events.

David has deep expertise and a long track record in advancing core social issues in Ontario, including accessibility, diversity, employment and literacy, through modern governance and policy formulation.

He has served as an accessibility consultant for both the public and private sector, was inaugural chair of Ontario”s Accessibility Standards Advisory Council, conducted the Third Legislative Review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), and has worked as an Accessibility Council member for both the Rogers Centre and Scotiabank Arena, formerly Air Canada, in Toronto.

Currently, David is a Senior Lecturer and Distinguished Visitor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, where he teaches two courses in Political Science – The Politics of Disability and The Vice Regal Office in Canada. He is also the Special Advisor to the Vice President & Principal on Accessibility Issues.

Previously, he worked as a broadcast journalist at Citytv, covering education, science and technology. Notably, when he entered the field in 1984, he was the first on-air news personality with a physical disability in Canadian television history.

David is also the author of a best-selling work of fiction and a high school science textbook, and he was the founding president of the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada.

David”s contributions to society have been recognized through numerous awards and honorary degrees. He is a member of both the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario, was named Ambassador to the 2017 Invictus Games for wounded veterans and has served as an Honorary Patron to a variety of charitable causes.

BOARD MEMBERSHIPS

• Member of the Board, Canadian Hearing Services

• Member of the Board, Crossroads Communications

• Member of the Board, YES TV.

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS

• Bachelor of Arts, Specialist Certificate, Canadian Political Science, University of Toronto

• Law School, University of Windsor (1976–1977)