Dr. Bonnie Henry

Spring 2022 Honorary Degree Recipient

Doctor of Laws (honoris causa)

Public health leaders across the country have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with incredible dedication. Even among this outstanding group, Dr. Bonnie Henry (MD’90) has received national attention and recognition for leading British Columbia’s response with good judgment, confident professionalism and compassionate empathy.

Her work as B.C.’s provincial health officer is informed by an impressive background on the global stage. Dr. Henry’s extensive experience in public health and preventative medicine includes roles with the World Health Organization/UNICEF polio eradication program in Pakistan and the WHO’s work to control the Ebola outbreak in Uganda. She was operational lead in the response to the 2003 SARS outbreak in Toronto and a member of the Canadian Pandemic Coordinating Committee responding to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. She has also recently introduced significant and innovative measures to confront the drug overdose emergency in British Columbia. 

A graduate of Dalhousie’s Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Henry also holds a master’s in Public Health from the University of California San Diego. Dr. Henry has written two books: Soap and Water and Common Sense and Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe: Four Weeks that Shaped a Pandemic. In 2022, she was awarded the Order of British Columbia and the British Columbia Medal of Good Citizenship.