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John Gilchrist Wade
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Physician, administrator.
Born in Winnipeg around 1934, eldest of three children of pharmacist Francis “Frank” Wade (1906-1985) and Amy Irene Newton (1906-1969), grandson of Frederic Young Newton, he received a BSc degree from the University of North Dakota then attended the Manitoba Medical College, graduating in 1960 with an MD degree. Joining the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba, he served as Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology (1969-1979) and Dean (1982-1988).
During his deanship, he started a program for recruitment of Indigenous students into medicine, believed to be the first program of its kind in Canada. He created the Department of Community Health Sciences in 1985 and expanded partnerships with other institutions to create the cardiac sciences research group with the St. Boniface Hospital. He was Deputy Minister of Health (1995-1997) in the the government of Gary Filmon.
He was Board Chair of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. He chaired a steering committee for Canadian patient safety which produced a report that, in 2003, led to the establishment of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, and he was its founding Board Chair. He founded the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety in 2004. In recognition of his service, he received a Distinguished Service Award from Doctors Manitoba (2011), a Lieutenant Governor's Award for Excellence in Public Administration (2011), and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety (2014). He was inducted into the Order of Canada (2019).
On 22 August 1959, he married Marilyn Joan Armstrong at Rosedale United Church.
He died on 17 July 2025.
Birth registration [Amy Irene Newton], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [Francis Wade, Amy Irene Newton], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Armstrong - Wade,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 September 1959, page 15.
“Lifetime Archievement Award,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 July 2014, page 4.
“UM community mourns loss of Dr. John Wade, medicine dean emeritus,” UM News, 21 July 2025.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 31 August 2025
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