Former Ontario Lt.-Gov. David Onley to lie in state this weekend ahead of state funeral

Former Ontario Lt.-Gov. David Onley will lie in state at the legislature this weekend ahead of a state funeral on Monday.

The casket arrived at Queen’s Park Saturday morning and was met by several dignitaries including Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell and Premier Doug Ford.

Public visitations will take place Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A condolence book will also be available for signing.

A state funeral will be held at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church in Toronto at 11 a.m. Seating is limited and will be available for the public on a first-come basis beginning at 9 a.m. For those unable to attend in person, the funeral service will be livestreamed on the Ontario government’s YouTube channel.

Road closures will be in effect Monday on Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue East, from Merton Street to the north and Mount Pleasant to the east, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Onley, the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, passed away at the age 72 at Sunnybrook Hospital following a brief illness back on Jan. 14.

A survivor of childhood polio, Onley was the first newscaster in Canada with a visible disability, spending more than two decades at CityTv, first as a weather specialist in 1984 before becoming the first morning anchor of Breakfast Television in 1989. He was also the station’s education, science and technology specialist.

He was appointed lieutenant-governor in 2007 and remained in the position for seven years. As the province’s first Lieutenant Governor with a physical disability, he adopted accessibility as the overarching theme of his mandate and frequently drew on his lived experience when highlighting existing accessibility barriers in all facets of society.

Onley also prioritized expanded existing literacy and education programs for Indigenous peoples in Ontario, putting emphasis on the importance of reconciliation and the value of bringing people together in dialogue.

Onley leaves behind his wife Ruth Ann and three children, Jonathan, Robert, and Michael.