Pauline Mills McGibbon

Pauline Emily Mills was born 20 October 1910 in Sarnia, Ontario.[4] She was the only child of Alfred William and Ethel Selina Mills, her father being a textiles and goods merchant.[5] After George Street, and Lochiel Street Schools, and Sarnia Collegiate, she studied at Victoria College at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1933 with a Bachelor of Arts in Modern History.[5][6][7]

In January 1935 Pauline married football star and her childhood sweetheart Donald Walker McGibbon,[3][5][1] both attending the university together. Don later became vice-president and treasurer of Imperial Oil Limited.[5]

A lifelong volunteer and supporter of the arts, McGibbon became president of the Dominion Drama Festival from 1957 to 1959.[5] She volunteered for years including national president of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire from 1963 to 1965.[4] She was the first woman to lead such organizations as the Canadian Conference of the Arts (1972).[1]

McGibbon served as chancellor, and first female in those roles, of the universities of Toronto (1971–1974) and Guelph (1977–1983).[8][9]

Appointed by prime minister Pierre Trudeau,[5] McGibbon was installed as the first female Lieutenant Governor of Ontario on 17 January 1974, and thus became the first female governor in the country.[10] (The first female Governor in the Commonwealth was Dame Hilda Bynoe, Governor of Grenada 1968–1974.) She held the office until 1980. A particular focus of her mandate was the arts in Ontario.[8] This was her first salaried employment, due to the support of her husband which had enabled her to devote much time to voluntary work.[11] Of her annual $35 000 salary, she gave back the money other than for $200 a month which at her husband's request went into a retirement savings plan.[3]

Additional to her benevolent work, McGibbon was an active member of the business community, and served as director on companies in Canada such as IBM Canada Limited,[7] Imasco, Mercedes-Benz, and George Weston Limited.[5]

From 1980 McGibbon was a director of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall.[8][4] She also served as chairman, and their first female chair of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa (1980),[1][12] and honorary colonel of 25 (Toronto) Service Battalion and No. 7 Cadet Corps of Saint Thomas.[7]

During her life, McGibbon was also the governor of the Upper Canada College.[5]

She and Don had no children.[5]

By the end of her life, McGibbon had been the chairman, a board member, director, and/or president of at least fifteen arts associations, including the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), the Toronto International Festival of Dance and Music, and the du Maurier Council for the Performing Arts.[5]

After a lengthy illness, McGibbon died in Toronto on Friday, 14 December 2001, aged 91.[9] She was buried in the family plot in the Lakeview Cemetery in Sarnia, Ontario.

Established in 1981, the Pauline McGibbon Award, a monetary $7000 (2021) award, is given each year to a member of Ontario’s professional theatre community in the early stages of the member's career who has displayed a unique talent and a potential for excellence.[13] The Ontario Arts Council manages the award.

Her name is also given to Pauline McGibbon Park, 180 North College Avenue, Sarnia.[1]

McGibbon is the first woman to hold the presidency of the University of Toronto Alumni Association (1952–53). In November 1956, she received a life membership in Ontario provincial chapter, to which she had given continuous service since 1940.[6] McGibbon was one of many people recognised by the Alumni as 1990 Arbor Award recipients for generosity and contribution to the experience of university members.[14]

She received the medal of service of the Order of Canada in recognition of her contributions to worthy causes.[15] She was made a Dame of the Order of Saint Lazarus.[7] In 1957 McGibbon received the Canadian Drama Award for outstanding service to theatre in Canada.[7]

She received the Civic Award of Merit from the City of Toronto,[7] and in the same year an honorary doctor of laws degree from University of Alberta.[15]

McGibbon was named as an Officer of the Order of Canada in December 1967, for her contribution to the theatre and education, and several volunteer organizations.[12] After leaving Office, McGibbon was promoted to be a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1980,[12] and was separately appointed to the Order of Ontario in December 1988.[8]

In October 1975 as a lieutenant-governor, she was awarded an honorary law degree by the University of Toronto.[16]

By March 1977, McGibbon held seven honorary degrees from Canadian universities, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, a Dame of Grace of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, the Canadian Centennial Medal (1967), and the Award of Merit from the Canadian Public Relations Society.[7] She had also been the first woman member of the Royal Canadian Military Institute.[7]

• Order of Canada Citation
• Pauline McGibbon fonds, Archives of Ontario