PAT (GLOVER) BOVEY ’66 ONE OF THREE MANITOBANS APPOINTED TO SENATE
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a total of nine new, non-partisan appointees to the upper house on Thursday. The three new Manitobans named to the Senate -- Winnipeggers Patricia Bovey, Marilou McPhedran and Harvey Max Chochinov -- give the province a full complement of six members again for the first time since March 2013.
The nine named from across Canada Thursday are the first senators to be chosen under an arm's-length process that saw more than 2,700 Canadians apply to fill 21 vacancies in the Red Chamber.
Bovey, 68, is a longtime art historian, curator and former director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. She's taught at the university level and served on such boards as the National Gallery of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts.
"I feel very humbled. I feel very excited – and looking forward to doing all I can to work on the issues we face as Canadians," she said in an interview.
Bovey said she believes her extensive arts background was key to her appointment, although she's also held several administrative positions and, until recently, served as chair of the board of governors at the University of Manitoba.
She got the call from Prime Minister Trudeau late Wednesday afternoon.
"We had a conversation about the changes he’s making in the Senate, and he was very clear that he expects us to make significant contributions to the overall work of the Senate and help work on the challenges and opportunities that face the country," she said.
"...We spoke about the role and importance of arts and culture. He also very much underlined the fact that I will be there sitting as an independent, absolutely non-partisan."
Asked if she had ties to the Liberal party, Bovey said: "No, I’m absolutely apolitical. And over the years I’ve had appointments by parties of all political stripes."
Bovey grew up in Crescentwood and went to university in Toronto. She worked at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in the 1970s as curator of traditional art, spent 20 years working in British Columbia and returned to the WAG as director from 1999 to 2004. While in B.C.,she served as board chair of Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
In her career, she has also served as a consultant for small arts organizations across the country.
"She clearly articulates the importance of art and culture to social and economic wellbeing, and has increased access to the arts through her leadership and innovative work," according to the biographical note that accompanied her appointment.
"She has facilitated the health of community arts organizations through governance stability and audience engagement, and given voice to artists' work, including Indigenous creators, through research, publications, ground-breaking exhibitions and new public programs."
Bovey has participated in federal and provincial cultural policy reviews as well as in the drafting of ethical guidelines for Canadian museums.
She has two grown daughters.
Story by Nick Martin and Larry Kusch (Winnipeg Free Press)
Click here to read the entire article on the WFP website.
Story by Nick Martin and Larry Kusch (Winnipeg Free Press)
Click here to read the entire article on the WFP website.
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Tel: (204) 784-1600 | Fax: (204) 774-5534 | info@balmoralhall.ca
Charitable Registration No. 12994 3932 RR0001
Our mission at Balmoral Hall School is to inspire girls’ imagination and the courage to excel, to reach, to lead, to care.
We are a nondenominational independent day and boarding school, educating students from Junior Nursery to Grade 12.
