EVENT DATE: December 14, 2016
TOPIC: Her Excellency’s role as vice regal spouse and how the important issue of mental health has come to define her time in office

Sharon Johnston graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966 as a physical and occupational therapist, and subsequently worked in the area of child psychiatry. She also completed her master’s and doctorate degrees in rehabilitation science. Her doctoral thesis resulted in the publication of scientific articles on respiratory mechanics.

While the family lived in Montreal for twenty years, she ensured that her five daughters became fluently bilingual. Mrs. Johnston also volunteered on many boards, as well as at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital. In 1999 Mr.and Mrs. Johnston moved to Waterloo, Ontario. There she began an entirely new life managing for twelve years a hundred acre farm and small horse boarding business.

Mrs. Johnston has also written an autobiographical essay, and recently published her first novel Matrons and Madams, based on her grandmother’s experiences in post-Great War Alberta.

In June 2016, Mrs. Johnston was appointed Honorary Captain (Navy) for Military Personnel Command of the Canadian Armed Forces for her work in supporting military families and breaking down the stigma surrounding mental illness.