Andrew Petter has always viewed the future not as a gift but as an opportunity. Over a lifetime of service to the province, his visionary leadership has had a transformative impact on B.C. in public policy, legal education, university engagement and community betterment.
Some of Andrew’s achievements are:
As a provincial cabinet minister, Andrew led efforts to end legal discrimination against same-sex couples, establish the BC Treaty Commission, develop a mandate for the Nisga’a treaty negotiations, and create B.C.’s first Forest Practices Code. These initiatives enhanced human rights, advanced reconciliation, and positioned B.C. as a leader in environmental protection.
As dean of law at the University of Victoria, Andrew established UVIC Law as a trailblazer in Indigenous legal education with enriched programming and ground-breaking initiatives like the Akitsiraq Law School that extended the reach of legal education to Indigenous peoples in the high Arctic.
As president and vice-chancellor of Simon Fraser University, Andrew oversaw the development and implementation of a strategic vision that established SFU as Canada’s “engaged university.” Under his leadership, SFU expanded co-operative education and community-based learning, developed an innovative strategy to support sustainable growth and social infrastructure, and became a catalyst for community dialogue and development. In addition to being named Canada’s top comprehensive university by Maclean’s Magazine for nine of his 10 years, in 2020 SFU was ranked first in the world by Times Higher Education for its impact on sustainable cities and communities.
Finally, as MLA and minister responsible for the Provincial Capital Commission, Andrew made enormous contributions to enhancing the quality of life of the Capital Region. Everyone who uses the Galloping Goose and Lochside trails, visits the restored St. Ann’s Academy, hikes Gowlland-Tod Provincial Park, or draws water from the enlarged Sooke Water Supply Area owes Andrew a huge debt of gratitude for his vision and tenacity in seeing these and other community projects to completion.
In everything he has done, Andrew has been guided by an abiding faith in the power of public institutions to achieve transformative change. His contribution to B.C.’s economic and civic life has been recognized nationally and locally. His many honours range from Public Policy Forum’s Peter Lougheed Award for exceptional leadership in public policy to honorary citizenship in the City of Victoria. In 2019, he was inducted into the Order of Canada in recognition of his contributions to public policy and his leadership in advancing university-community engagement and higher education throughout the country.
