Lyn McLeod

Photo: Thunder Bay Historical Museum

Lyn McLeod

• Date of Birth: 1942
• Accomplishments related to: Education, Government, Health Care.
• Major affiliations: Ontario Liberal party, Lakehead Board of Education, Confederation College, Lakehead University, Health Council of Canada, Ontario Health Quality Council.

Lyn McLeod was a former MPP for the Fort William riding and the first woman to be an elected leader of an Ontario political party. Lyn McLeod holds a B.A. from the University of Manitoba and an M.A. in Psychology from Lakehead University.

McLeod first moved to Thunder Bay in 1968. Before her career in Provincial Parliament, McLeod was the trustee on the Lakehead Board of Education for seventeen years and its chair for seven. McLeod was also appointed to the Lakehead University Board of Governors in 1986.

Lyn McLeod served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 - 2003. She was first elected to the riding of Fort William in the provincial election of 1987 and was a cabinet minister in the Liberal government of David Peterson from 1987 - 1990. McLeod was appointed Minister of Colleges and Universities in 1987 and was named Minister of Energy and Minister of Natural Resources in 1989. After Peterson's resignation, McLeod became the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 1992 - 1996. Following her leadership in the Liberal Party, McLeod was re-elected in 1999 in the redistributed riding of Thunder Bay-Atitkokan. McLeod did not seek re-election in 2003; however, she continued to be actively involved in community work around the issues of education and health care.

Following her retirement in 2003, McLeod held several roles including the Ontario government representative on the Health Council of Canada, Chair of the Ontario Health Quality Council, and Vice-Chair of the Ontario Power Authority Board of Directors. She was the first chancellor of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) from 2004 - 2008 and was on the Confederation College Board of Governors from 2003 - 2008. She received a Doctor of Laws honorary degree from UOIT in 2010 and in 2014 McLeod was made a member of the Order of Ontario in recognition for having devoted her career to public service.

Chronicle Journal November 6, 1978

Chronicle Journal January 2, 2004

Submitted by: Joshua Klar