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John Harvard
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Journalist, MP (1988-1993), MP (1993-1997), MP (1997-2000), MP (2000-2004), Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba (2004-2009).
Born John Harvard Heidman at Glenboro on 4 June 1938, 11th of 12 surviving children of Adalgrimur “Harry” Heidman (1891-1965) and Mabel Olivera Johnson (1897-1979), he graduated from Glenboro School in 1957 where he was valedictorian.
He dropped his surname when he became a broadcast journalist. He worked from 1957 to 1988 for the CBC and CJOB radio and television stations, and received the 1976 ACTRA award for best broadcaster.
In the 1988 federal general election, he was elected to the House of Commons, representing the Winnipeg St. James constituency, and was re-elected in 1993, 1997, and 2000. While an MP, he served as Chair of the Canada-Germany Parliamentary Association (1996-2000) and Chair of the Canada-UK Parliamentary Association (2001-2004). He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers of Public Works, International Trade, and Agriculture and Agri-food. He chaired the Prime Minister’s Task Force on the Four Western Provinces, and with Senator Marie Charette Poulin he led the review on Canada's national and international position in communications and telecommunications. He was Vice Chair of the House of Commons Committee on Heritage, and served on the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and was part of the study on Canada’s global relations with Islamic countries, an interest he continued in his retirement. He did not stand for re-election at the 2004 general election, when he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba.
A community stalwart, he continued his public service in his retirement, embodying his motto “We are all better off when we are all better off.” He was a member of the board of the Icelandic Foundation, the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, Winnipeg Harvest’s Poverty and Hunger Committee, the Patron’s Circle of the Canadian Muslim Leadership Institute, the Duke of Edinburg Awards, and he served as Vice-Prior of the Society of St. John.
A member of the Privy Council of Canada, and In recognition of his community service, he also received the Canada 125 Commemorative Medal (1992), Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012). He was inducted into the Order of the Falcon (2000), Order of Manitoba (2004), and Order of St. John (2007). He received an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Manitoba (2005) and was inducted as a Knight of the Society of St. John (2009).
He was married three times, first on 4 June 1960 to Sharon Dianne Cater (1942-2009, granddaughter of Henry William Cater) with whom he had a son and two daughters. He was later married to Lenore Berscheid (1947-2018, with whom he had a son and daughter) and Patricia Bovey.
He died at Winnipeg on 9 January 2016.
See also:
Government House at 125
Manitoba History, Number 58, June 2008
“Engagements,” Brandon Sun, 13 May 1960, page 10.
Obituary [Mabel Heidman], Winnipeg Free Press, 20 December 1979, page 58.
Obituary [Joey Kitchingman], Winnipeg Free Press, 15 March 1995, page 32.
“John Harvard, Lt. Governor of MB., among Glenboro School graduates from 1957 class,” Glenboro Gazette, 5 June 2007, page 10.
“St. John Ambulance Awards,” Winnipeg Free Press, 24 June 2007, page 19.
Obituary [Bernice Mae Anderson], Winnipeg Free Press, 6 April 2009, page 28.
Obituary [Sharon Dianne Heidman], Winnipeg Free Press, 16 June 2010.
Obituary [Sasha Harvard], Winnipeg Free Press, 5 March 2013.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 16 January 2016.
Obituary [Lenore Berscheid], Winnipeg Free Press, 24 March 2018.
Obituary [Mitchell Darren Heidman], Winnipeg Free Press, 19 May 2018.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Phyllis Fraser and Patricia Bovey for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 31 May 2025
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