DENNISON, Donald Gordon

October 17, 1946 – July 1, 2015

As you may have heard by now, we announce with our sincere regrets that Don Dennison passed away on July 1^st from complications of squamous cell cancer. He went peacefully surrounded by his family members.

Originally from Toronto, Donald made Fredericton, New Brunswick his home in 1973. Don worked in Ottawa and New Brunswick, where he served as Deputy Minister of three departments, was President Emeritus of Nature Trust NB and remained connected with Fredericton Heritage Trust. He holds degrees from the University of Toronto (B.A. Political Science), Carleton University (M.A. Political Science) and Queen’s University (Master of Public Administration). In 2008, he was honoured with the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada. In addition to home and family, Don dedicated his energy to the future prosperity of New Brunswick.

Don was a member of the New Brunswick Social Policy Research Network’s Advisory Board where he helped in achieving the Network’s mission of evidence-based decision making. He understood the difficulties and challenges faced by the province as much as he understood the value held by its citizens in helping to achieve prosperity. An avid proponent for NB2026 whose mission is to achieve a prosperous and stronger New Brunswick by 2026, Don understood that progress began by bringing those from across sectors to the table; One of New Brunswick’s most valuable asset is its citizens. Through his involvement in these organizations, Don worked until the very end to influence change in New Brunswick.

It is in his memory, the New Brunswick Social Policy Research Network will introduce the Donald Dennison Memorial Keynote who will speak at our annual Policy Forum. The chosen keynote will speak to their experiences of influencing change in New Brunswick or the Atlantic region.

Those who wish may consider a donation to the Nature Trust of New Brunswick, a non-profit, charitable land trust organization dedicated to land conservation in the province of New Brunswick, as well as environmental stewardship and education.