The Honourable William Grenville Davis

Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at 1 p.m.

Location: Peel Art Gallery Museum and Archives, 9 Wellington Street East, Brampton Visit this gravesite

Bio: Born in Brampton, William Grenville Davis was a key transformational figure in Ontario’s political history. He believed in the diversity of ideas, rising above political rivalries, while enjoying unrivalled popularity. As Minister of Education (1962-71) and Minister of University Affairs (1964-71), he built a vast education infrastructure that included York, Brock, Trent and Laurentian universities, the Ontario college system, and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, as well as establishing TVOntario. Davis served as the 18th Premier of Ontario from 1971-85. He implemented rent control, famously cancelled the Spadina Expressway, and intervened to protect the Niagara Escarpment from commercial development and urban sprawl. In 1986, Davis was appointed as a Companion of the Order of Canada. He received the Order of Ontario in 1987 and was appointed as a Knight in the Legion of Honour of France in 2001. Davis died on August 8, 2021, aged 92.