Dr. Jonathan Dewar

Dr. Dewar holds a PhD in Canadian Studies from Carleton University, a program that is offered jointly with Trent University. He also has a B.A from the University of Ottawa and an M.A. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Windsor. His doctoral work explored the role of art and artist in truth, healing, and reconciliation. He holds an appointment as Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton. 

Jonathan is the Chief Executive Officer of the First Nations Information Governance Centre, which leads national-level research and information initiatives; provides data sovereignty, information governance, and OCAP® education and training; and leads the implementation of the national First Nations Data Governance Strategy. 

He was formerly the Director General and Vice President, Collections, Research, Exhibitions, and Repatriation at the Canadian Museum of History; Director of the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre and Special Advisor to the President at Algoma University; and Director of Research at the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, among other leadership roles. 

Jonathan has sat on numerous boards throughout his career, including as Vice Chair for the Queensway Carleton Hospital Board of Directors and Chair of its Governance Committee, and the inaugural Board of Directors for the National Council for Reconciliation, where he chairs the Governance Committee. He has served on many expert advisory bodies, including the Public Health Data Steering Committee, the Expert Advisory Group on the pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy, and serves as a member of the National Killam Program Selection Committee and the Mila/CIFAR Indigenous AI Advisory Circle, as well as a Mentor for the Action Canada Fellowship program.

Born and raised in the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation (Ottawa), Jonathan is a member of the Wendat Nation. 

Following a one-year appointment as an external committee member on the Finance & Property Committee, Jonathan has been appointed to the Board of Governors for a three-year term, effective July 1, 2026.