The Ontario Legislature has voted unanimously to pass a bill put forward by NDP MPP Percy Hatfield (Windsor-Tecumseh), to create a Poet Laureate of Ontario and establish the role in memory of Gord Downie, the late frontman of The Tragically Hip — a bill the NDP’s critic for Francophone Affairs, Guy Bourgouin, said has special meaning for Franco-Ontarians.
The beloved and iconic lead singer for the Juno Award-winning Kingston band, Downie was also a published poet. In his final years, Downie was an outspoken advocate for reconciliation with Canada’s First Peoples. He died in 2017 from a rare form of brain cancer.
“I am beyond thrilled that the Ontario Legislature will honour Gord Downie’s life and legacy with the office of Ontario Poet Laureate. Creating this role in Downie’s memory is a powerful tribute to the legacy of this quintessentially Ontarian artist. Enshrining the office of Poet Laureate in Downie’s name both celebrates his life and gives an important platform to Ontario’s next generations of poets,” Hatfield said.
“This development is especially exciting in Ontario’s French-speaking community, because of the importance of poetry to French and Franco-Ontarian culture,” said Guy Bourgouin, NDP MPP for Mushkegoquk-James Bay. “Franco-Ontarian poets and musicians like Paul Demers, who authored the Franco-Ontarian anthem ‘Notre Place’ will certainly appreciate the meaningful opportunities granted by the new office of Ontario Poet Laureate to raise the profile of our culture and community.”
Ontario’s Poet Laureate will be responsible for promoting arts and literacy in the province, celebrating the province and its peoples and raising the profile of Ontario poets.
“Ontario’s Poet Laureate will act as Ontario’s literacy ambassador, traveling the province to bring attention to Ontario’s great poets and works of poetry, as well as the beauty and value of poetry in our society,” Hatfield said. “The Poet Laureate will also lead workshops, take part in poetry readings and encourage students to engage with poetry at school.”
