Named to the Order of Ontario New Year’s Day was Valley son Sean Conway, 28 years the Member of Provincial Parliament for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, and two-time Ontario Minister of Education in the David Peterson Government from 1985-90.
The accolade was for 2019- as the Ford Government revamped the criteria when it took office, and the Lieutenant-Governor’s list bestowed two years of honours in the January 1st announcement.
While we assume the Order of Ontario recognizes Conway’s political and public service contributions to provincial life, the former member says it’s the skill-set that helped get him there- a tradition of Valley oratory and the gift of the gab.
Another trait all of our successful MPPs over the years have displayed is never forgetting a face, and this reporter recalls the propensity of red ties at the school board table when the Minister toured Northern Ontario, and I sat as a member on the Timiskaming Board of Education.
Conway even spoke off the top of his head about common history between the Valley, and the land settled on the shores of Lake Temiskaming.
He’s spent the years since leaving office in 2003 as a successful educator at Queen’s, U of T and Ryerson- so when’s he coming home?
Sean Conway- at 24, the youngest member yet elected to Provincial Parliament, and January 1st, made a member of the Order of Ontario
An installation ceremony is planned when circumstances permit.
PRODUCED FEATURE (4:25) duplicates above, with narrative
An accolade for a former long-serving Member of Provincial Parliament, Sean Conway, was bestowed on New Year’s Day. He’s now a member of the Order of Ontario.
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