The Right Honourable David Johnston, C.C. has been a director of Dexterra since May 2020. Mr. Johnston has held several distinguished management and leadership positions in academia and government, including acting as the 28th Governor General of Canada, from 2010 to 2017. In 2018, Mr. Johnston was appointed Colonel to the Royal Canadian Regiment.
Prior to his installation as governor general, Mr. Johnston was a professor of law for 45 years and served as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo for two terms and principal and vice-chancellor of McGill University for 15 years. Mr. Johnston has also served on numerous provincial and federal task forces and committees, acted as president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (now Universities Canada) and of the Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec.
Mr. Johnston is a member of the Order of Canada and was promoted to companion, the Order’s highest level, in 1997. Mr. Johnston was also the first non-U.S. citizen to be elected chair of Harvard University’s board of overseers. Mr. Johnston holds degrees from Harvard, Cambridge and Queens and has received more than three dozen honorary degrees or fellowships.
