THE HONORABLE W. YVON DUMONT

The Honorable W. Yvon Dumont was sworn in March 5, 1993 as Manitoba's 21st Lieutenant Governor.

Mr. Dumont was born in St. Laurent, Manitoba in 1951 and first became active in the Manitoba Metis Federation in 1967 when he served as secretary-treasurer of the St. Larent local. He was elected a member of the Board of the Interlake Region of the Federation in 1972, and executive vice-president of the Federation in 1973. From 1972 to 1973, Mr. Dumont also served as founding vice-president of the Native Council of Canada.

Mr. Dumont was elected president of the Manitoba Metis Federation in 1984, re-elected in 1986, 1988 and 1990. He also served as president of the Metis National Council from 1988 to 1993 and has been an effective advocate of Metis issues and people, both within the province and at the national level. As president, Mr. Dumont played an instrumental role in achieving recognition of aboriginal issues in Manitoba through the Federation's participation in both the First Ministers' Conference on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters and the most recent round of constitutional discussions.

He has served as a member of the Municipal Council of the Rural Municipality of St. Laurent and as a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Manitoba. He has been active in several small businesses and has served as a member of the national division of the Aboriginal Economic Development Board.

Mr. Dumont is Vice Prior and a Knight of Justice within The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. He was awarded the Manitoba Metis Federation Award in 1993 for his dedicated service to the Metis people of Canada, and was chosen for the 1995 Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Community Service Award in recognition of his personal efforts in the cleanup of the Seine River in Winnipeg. In April 1996, Mr. Dumont was a recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards in the Public Service Category. Mr. Dumont was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Manitoba on May 30, 1996.

Mr. Dumont married Lyla Klassen in 1975. The Dumonts have three children: Jill, Joel and Dana.