The Honourable Edith Dumont is the 30th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. The first Francophone to hold the office, she was appointed following a long and distinguished career in education.
Driven by a desire to build relationships; strengthen communities; create collaborative teams; and advocate for diversity, inclusion, and the celebration of la francophonie, Madame Dumont’s journey has led her across Canada and around the world. Her first professional experiences in the Dominican Republic and Rwanda pointed her towards humanitarian work and teaching. Her passion for pedagogy and community-oriented schools has only increased over the years.
In the late 1990s, a professional assignment allowed Madame Dumont and her family to spend several years living in Pretoria, South Africa, and in Paris, France. During this time, Madame Dumont devoted herself to her three children, and to completing her Master’s degree in education. She is always mindful of how the diverse communities she encounters transform her and enrich her worldview.
Upon her return to Canada, Madame Dumont leveraged her personal and professional experiences to pursue a 32-year career at the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CEPEO). Her mobilizing leadership and her desire to create welcoming schools, open to the community, led her to take on progressively senior responsibilities. From special education teacher to school principal, she became the first woman to assume the highest role at CEPEO: Director of Education and Secretary-Treasurer.
Madame Dumont has been commended for implementing various innovative initiatives to develop school and community leadership. She set new records for the number of high-performing schools, with graduation rates approaching 95 per cent.
In 2020, she joined the newly established Université de l’Ontario français (UOF) in Toronto, as its Vice-President of Partnerships, Communities, and International Relations. Her three-year term permitted her to establish UOF’s first partnerships: le Carrefour des savoirs et de l’innovation, and a strategy for bespoke training resources for businesses.
Madame Dumont has always promoted diversity as a vital strength in every community, women as indispensable contributors to decision-making tables, collaboration as the foundation of high-performing teams, and la francophonie as a source of pride in all aspects of society.
She has been invited to discuss these themes as a speaker and panelist at numerous international conferences.
She was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques by the French Republic for her contributions in bringing international attention to Ontario’s expertise in education. Madame Dumont is also a member of the Order of Ontario. In addition, she has been recognized with the Coronation Medal, the Médaille de l’Ordre de la Pléiade de l’Ontario, the Médaille de l’Ordre de la ville d’Ottawa, and several other community awards.
Madame Dumont holds two Bachelor’s degrees, one in psychology from the Université d’Ottawa and another in orthopedagogy from the Université du Québec en Outaouais, as well as a Master of Education from the University of Ottawa.
She lives with her husband, Tony Viscardi. They have three children, Éloïse, Antoine, and Gabrielle. In her free time, Madame Dumont enjoys open water swimming, hiking, cross-country skiing, and skating on the world’s largest natural skating rink: the Rideau Canal.
Honours
Madame Dumont has received the following honours:
- Dame of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem
- Member of the Order of Ontario (2023), postnominal letters: OOnt
- The King Charles III Coronation Medal
- Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques
Mr. Tony Viscardi
Mr. Tony Viscardi was born in Sainte-Marthe-Sur-le-Lac, Quebec. Upon graduating from high school, he joined the Canadian Armed Forces at the Collège Militaire Royal de St-Jean. He then earned a Bachelor of Computer Engineering degree from the Royal Military College (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario.
As a young officer cadet, Mr. Viscardi completed his basic officer’s training at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Chilliwack in British Columbia. He also completed summer training at CFB Greenwood in Nova Scotia, Baden in Germany, as well as North Bay and Trenton in Ontario. Following his graduation from RMC, he further specialized in Aerospace Engineering at CFB Borden in Ontario.
He started his career as a young aerospace engineer in Ottawa at CFB Rockcliffe where he served for 4 years and retired at the rank of captain. Upon his retirement, he transitioned into the private sector to start a second career as an information technology consultant. He has served clients in Canada and also internationally in South Africa, France and the United States.
Celebrating 30 years of marriage to Mme Dumont, Mr. Viscardi is a proud father of three children. Éloïse, the eldest, was born in Ottawa, Antoine in South Africa, and Gabrielle, the youngest, in France.
Together with Mme Dumont, Mr Viscardi enjoys trekking, sailing, cross-country skiing and skating on the iconic Rideau Canal. He also enjoys playing golf, hockey and broomball with his long-time friends.
Mr Viscardi holds a Bachelor of Computer Engineering from RMC Kingston and a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Ottawa.
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