Officer of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: November 21, 2013
• Invested on: September 12, 2014

For his advancement of open learning and distance education in Canada and around the world.


John Daniel is a champion of open and distance education in Canada and abroad. Committed to improving access to education, he has provided vision and leadership to several institutions, notably as president of Laurentian University and The Open University in the United Kingdom, and through UNESCO and the Commonwealth of Learning. He has encouraged the use of technology and partnerships to expand learning opportunities, giving the prospect of high-quality post-secondary education to people around the world.