R. Peter MacKinnon, (born 1947) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

lawyer and legal academic. MacKinnon served as the president of the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

from 1999 to 2012. On 1 July 2014, he was named as the interim president of

Athabasca University Athabasca University (AU) is a Canadian public university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first Canadian ...

. On 15 January 2019, MacKinnon started serving as interim president of

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

upon the resignation of Richard Florizone and served until the announcement of the next president,

Deep Saini Hargurdeep Saini ( Punjabi: ਹਰਗੁਰਦੀਪ ਸੈਣੀ) is an Indian-Canadian scientist and university administrator.Advances in Agronomy, pp ix, Volume 68 By Donald L. Sparks, San Diego tc.: Academic Press, cop. 2000. He is the pre ...

Biography

Born in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, he received a BA from

, an LL.B from Queen's University and a

LL.M A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from the

. He is a member of the

Ontario Bar The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; ) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; ), its name was changed by statu ...

and Saskatchewan Bar. He was created a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1990. He is married to Janice MacKinnon, a Canadian historian and former minister of finance for the Province of Saskatchewan. They have two children, Alan and William. In 1975, he joined the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan as an assistant professor of law. He became an associate professor in 1978 and a professor in 1983. He served as chair of the University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association from 1983–84. From 1979 to 1981, he was the assistant dean of law and was the dean of law from 1988 to 1998. In 1999, he was appointed the eighth president of the University of Saskatchewan. On March 9, MacKinnon announced that he would be stepping down as president of the University of Saskatchewan, effective June 30, 2012. He is succeeded by Ilene Busch-Vishniac, former provost and vice-president (academic) at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

. From 2003 to 2005, he was the chairman of the

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada Universities Canada () is an organization that represents Canada's universities. It is a non-profit national organization that coordinates university policies, guidance and direction. Formed in 1911, as the Association of Universities and Colleg ...

, the organization representing Canada's universities. In 2006, it was reported that he was one of three "short list" candidates to be recommended to be appointed to the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

replacing the retired justice

John C. Major John Charles Major (born February 20, 1931) is a Canadian jurist and was a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1992 to 2005. Early life and education Major was born at Mattawa Hospital in Mattawa, Ontario. Major received a Bache ...

. In 2011, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

"for his contributions to education and for his commitment to innovation and research excellence".r In 2012, the Board of Governors of the University of Saskatchewan renamed the College Building the Peter MacKinnon Building.

Controversies

In May 8, 2025, Peter MacKinnon published an opinion story demanding that the

end its programs to encourage equity, diversity and inclusion, with the claim that this program is part of an 'ideological crusade' that 'disparages merit, distorts our history and rests on the proposition that a white majority population has perpetrated a wide and pervasive racist agenda against others.' In response, and without naming MacKinnon by name, University of Saskatchewan President

Peter Stoicheff Richard Peter Stoicheff (born 1956) is a Canadian academic. He is the 10th and current president of the University of Saskatchewan, succeeding Ilene Busch-Vishniac, following an interim appointment of Gordon Barnhart. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, ...

noted that MacKinnon's allegations were 'serious and misguided', and noted the institution's obligations under The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code to eliminate discrimination in recruitment. Further, Stoicheff noted the university's robust academic freedom protections under the University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association Collective agreement.https://news.usask.ca/articles/general/2025/response-to-recent-anti-edi-opinion-piece.php

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackinnon, Peter Living people Lawyers in Saskatchewan Canadian King's Counsel Canadian legal scholars Presidents of the University of Saskatchewan Canadian university and college faculty deans Officers of the Order of Canada Academics from Prince Edward Island Canadian people of Scottish descent University of Saskatchewan alumni Dalhousie University alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni Presidents of Athabasca University 1947 births Canadian university and college chief executives University of Saskatchewan College of Law alumni