28th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
September 5, 2007 to September 23, 2014
The Honourable David C. Onley was appointed Ontario’s 28th Lieutenant Governor following a distinguished career as a broadcaster.
Mr. Onley championed disability issues for many years, having served as chair of the Accessibility Standards Advisory Council of the Government of Ontario and as an accessibility council member for the Rogers Centre and the Air Canada Centre.
As Ontario’s first Lieutenant Governor with a physical disability, Mr. Onley adopted accessibility as the overarching theme of his mandate. He defined accessibility as “that which enables people to achieve their full potential”, believing that true accessibility occurs when disabled people can fully participate in the social, cultural, and economic life of Ontario.
Because accessibility includes equal access to opportunities such as education, Mr. Onley expanded the Aboriginal Youth Literacy Initiative to include computer literacy programs.
Mr. Onley was born in Midland, Ontario, grew up in Scarborough, and has been inducted into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame and the Scarborough Walk of Fame. He served as Colonel of the Regiment of The Queen’s York Rangers (1st American Regiment) in his capacity of Lieutenant Governor, and personally as Honorary Colonel of 25 Field Ambulance. He was the recipient of the Rick Hansen Award of Excellence, the Courage to Come Back Award, and held 11 honorary degrees.
Mr. Onley passed away in January of 2023.