Heather Morrison is a Canadian emergency room physician who serves as the

Chief Public Health Officer The chief public health officer of Canada (CPHO; ) is the lead health professional and primary spokesperson on public health related matters for the Government of Canada. The chief public health officer provides advice to the minister of health a ...

(also referred to as the Medical Officer Of Health) for

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", ...

. She was the first woman to receive the

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

in the Prince Edward Island region, and was named

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

’s Newsmaker of the Year in 2020.

Early life and education

Morrison grew up outside of

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

in rural Prince Edward Island. She cites that a high school chemistry teacher, named Mr. Spenceley, convinced her to stay in a science class when she didn't want to. Morrison completed a

Bachelor Of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree at the

University of Prince Edward Island The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the only university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the ''University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000.'' H ...

in 1991. She completed a

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

’s degree, and a

Doctor Of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Next, Morrison completed medical school training at the

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 ...

, with residency training in community medicine at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Career

In July 2007, Morrison was appointed as the Chief Public Health Officer for

(PEI). Previously, Morrison has served as the Chair of the Canadian Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health, the Co-Chair of the Opioid Action Plan for PEI, Co-Chair of the Ebola response for PEI, and Chair of the Provincial infection and prevention control Committee. She has also served as a representative on behalf of the PEI on the Public Health Network Council of Canada, the national Special Advisory Committee in H1N1, and on the Epidemic of opioid overdoses committee. Morrison has spoken about different aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Prince Edward Island, including the COVID-19 vaccines, preparations for vaccine delivery and roll-out in Prince Edward Island, and public health practices, for multiple media outlets. Morrison's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic in Prince Edward Island has been recognized in various media outlets, and earned different forms of recognition, including being named

’s Newsmaker of the Year (2020) and having a calf named after her.

Personal life

Morrison has a husband and four children.

Honours and awards

’s Newsmaker of the Year (2020) *

's Distinguished Alumni Awards (2016) * City of Summerside's Frances O. Perry Good Neighbour of the Year (2021) *

Order of Prince Edward Island The Order of Prince Edward Island is a civilian Award, honour for merit in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. Instituted in 1996 by Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, Lieutenant Governor Gilbert Clements, on the advice of th ...

(2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Heather Canadian health officials Canadian women physicians Physicians from Prince Edward Island Canadian Rhodes Scholars Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Prince Edward Island alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Dalhousie University alumni Members of the Order of Prince Edward Island 21st-century Canadian physicians 21st-century Canadian women physicians