James Karl Bartleman (born 24 December 1939) is a former Canadian diplomat and author who served as the 27th

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province b ...

from 2002 to 2007. Bartleman grew up in the Muskoka town of

Port Carling Port Carling is an unincorporated community in the Township of Muskoka Lakes in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has been the municipal seat of the township since 1971. It has several hundred year-round residents and is a service centre for t ...

, and he is a member of the Chippewas of Mnjikaning First Nation. In 1963, he earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree (BA) in History from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

, where he was initiated as a member of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. ...

. From 2007 to 2012, Bartleman was the Chancellor of the

Ontario College of Art and Design Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within d ...

(OCAD) in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Foreign service career

Prior to taking on the role of lieutenant governor, Bartleman had a distinguished career of more than 35 years in the Canadian foreign service. He began his diplomatic career in what was then known as the Department of External Affairs (now

Global Affairs Canada Global Affairs Canada (GAC; french: Affaires mondiales Canada; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department ...

) in 1967. In 1972, he was given the task of opening Canada's first diplomatic mission in the newly independent People's Republic of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

. Bartleman also served in diplomatic posting in

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

. He was then made Canada's

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

(

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

) from 1981 to 1983. Upon his return from Cuba, he was appointed as director of security and intelligence for the Department of External Affairs. After this, Bartleman served as High Commissioner to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

and Ambassador to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

(

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

) simultaneously from 1986 to 1990. From the dual posting he moved to post of Canadian Ambassador to the

North Atlantic Council The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the principal political decision-making body of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), consisting of permanent representatives of its member countries. It was established by Article 9 of the North ...

of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(NATO) in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

from 1990 to 1994. He was moved from NATO to the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...

positions as High Commissioner to South Africa (

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...

) in 1998-1999 and to Australia (

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

) in 1999–2000. Finally, he was transferred back to Europe to serve as ambassador to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

in Brussels, Belgium, from 2000 to 2002. Bartleman was director of security and intelligence for the Department of External Affairs at the time of the

Air India Bombing Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi–Bombay route. On 23 June 1985, it was operated using Boeing 747-237B registered ''VT-EFO''. It disintegrated in mid-air en route from Montreal to Lond ...

. On 3 May 2007, he testified at the Air India Inquiry that he had presented an

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can ...

document to the

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

warning of a possible attack days prior to the bombing.

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of th ...

, who had been tasked with advising deputy PM

Anne McLellan A. Anne McLellan (born August 31, 1950) is a Canadian politician and academic who served as the ninth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006. She was a cabinet minister in the Liberal governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin ...

, later admitted that he never bothered to interview Bartleman, the former head of intelligence for

Foreign Affairs Canada Global Affairs Canada (GAC; french: Affaires mondiales Canada; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department ...

Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario

Bartleman was sworn in as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario on 7 March 2002 as Ontario's 41st Vice-regal representative (27th since confederation, 41st since the establishment of the post in 1792). As is traditional to a vice-regal appointment, Bartleman used his position to spearhead three initiatives that he personally identifies with and considers important. During his mandate as Lieutenant Governor, he sought to: # Reduce the stigma of mental illness; # Fight racism and discrimination; # Promote literacy among First Nations children. To these ends, he initiated the Lieutenant Governor's Book Program in 2004. He has collected over 1.2 million books, donated from all corners of the province from both institutions and individuals, to stock school libraries in First Nations communities, particularly in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...

. In 2005, to further promote literacy and bridge building, Bartleman initiated a program to pair up Native and non-Native schools in Ontario and

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

, and set-u
summer camps for literacy
development in five northern First Nations communities.

Personal

Bartleman is related to honorary Chief of the Mnjikaning Indians John Bigwin from his mother's side.

Writing

Bartleman published several works of

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

, both before and during his viceregal term. These included the childhood memoirs ''Out of Muskoka'' (2002) and ''Raisin Wine: A Boyhood in a Different Muskoka'' (2007), and the professional career memoirs ''On Six Continents'' (2004) and ''Rollercoaster: My Hectic Years as Jean Chrétien's Diplomatic Advisor'' (2005). Following the end of his viceregal term, Bartleman has also published a trilogy of social justice novels, ''As Long as the Rivers Flow'' (2011), ''The Redemption of Oscar Wolf'' (2013) and ''Exceptional Circumstances'' (2015). ''As Long as the Rivers Flow'' was a finalist for the 2013

Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature Burt is a given name and also a shortened form of other names, such as Burton and Herbert, or a place name. Burt may refer to: People * Burt Alvord (1866–after 1910), American Old West lawman and outlaw *Burt Bacharach (born 1928), American co ...

Honours

Orders and awards

* Bartleman was awarded the

National Aboriginal Achievement Award The Indspire Awards, until 2012 the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, are annual awards presented by Indspire in Canada. The awards are intended to celebrate and encourage excellence in the Aboriginal community. About The awards were fi ...

(now the Indspire Award) for public service in 1999 * On 1 June 2002, as Lieutenant-Governor, he received the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is ad ...

and became the Order's Chancellor * On 1 June 2002, he was invested as a Knight of Justice in the

Order of St. John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

* In 2002, he received the Canadian version of the

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

* On 25 January 2008, he received the Rotary Youth Impact Award for Lifetime Achievement from the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

of Toronto West * In 2011, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

"for his contributions to his country, notably as lieutenant governor, and as a champion of mental health, literacy and poverty reduction." * In 2012, he received the Canadian version of the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

* The Dr. Hugh Lefave Award * The Courage to Come Back Award * The Deloitte Hero Inspiration Award * The Jane Chamberlin Award for his efforts to reduce the stigma of mental illness * The Phi Delta Kappa Educator of the Year Award * The DAREarts Cultural Award in recognition of the Lieutenant Governor's Book Program

Honorary degrees

Bartleman has been awarded many

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...

s for his service, including the following:

Honorific eponyms

;Awards *

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

: James Bartleman Aboriginal Youth Creative Writing Awards

Bibliography

* ''Out of Muskoka'' (2002) * ''On Six Continents'' (2004) * ''Rollercoaster: My Hectic Years as Jean Chrétien's Diplomatic Advisor'' (2005) * ''Raisin Wine: A Boyhood in a Different Muskoka'' (2007) * ''As Long as the Rivers Flow'' (2011) * ''The Redemption of Oscar Wolf'' (2013) * ''Exceptional Circumstances'' (2015) * ''Seasons of Hope'' (2016) * ''A Matter of Conscience'' (2018)

References

External links