Biography of His Honour, John Harvard, P.C., O.M.
The Honourable John Harvard was installed as the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba on June
30, 2004.
Before his appointment as Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Harvard served as a Member of Parliament
for 16-years (1988-2004) and as a broadcast journalist from 1957-1988, including 18 years with
the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Mr. Harvard was first elected in the Federal riding of Winnipeg St. James and subsequently re-elected
(3 times) in the constituencies of Charleswood Assiniboine and Charleswood St. James-Assiniboia.
Mr. Harvard sat on the Government side of the House for more than ten years (1993-2004) and
during that time chaired several standing, all-party committees of the House of Commons (Government
Operations, Heritage and Agriculture) and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers
of Public Works, Agriculture and International Trade.
In 2001-02, Mr. Harvard was chairman of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on the Four Western
Provinces. He also held several caucus chairmanships and in the mid nineties served 4 years as
Chairman of the Canada-Germany Friendship Association and from 2001-2004 as Chairman of the Canada-United
Kingdom Inter-Parliamentary Association.
He seldom turned down a task. Through 2002 and 2003, Mr. Harvard was a Member of the House of
Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and was deeply involved in the Committee’s study of Canada’s
relations with Islamic countries around the World.
Before his Parliamentary career, Mr. Harvard was an award winning broadcaster and journalist.
(Actra Award, 1976) Over his 30-year career, Mr. Harvard worked on both radio and television,
including 18 years with CBC.
His Honour became a Member of the Order of Manitoba in 2004 and serves as Chancellor. In
2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Manitoba.
Born in 1938 in Glenboro, Manitoba, Mr. Harvard has three children from a previous marriage
Joey-Jaye (deceased), Traci, Darren and four grandchildren.
Mr. Harvard is married to Lenore Berscheid and Their Honours have two children, Sasha and Stephanie.
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