Gord Downie named as Ontario’s first poet laureate

Two years after his death, Gord Downie has been named Ontario’s first-ever poet laureate. This comes from The Poet Laureate of Ontario Act, which was passed last Thursday during the Ontario Government’s final legislative workday.

If this bill sounds vaguely familiar, it was first proposed by Percy Hatfield, NDP MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh in 2017, about two weeks before Gord died. It took this long for its way to wind its way through the legislative process.

The goal of the new position is to promote literacy and the arts throughout Ontario. It’s also designed to give a boost to the profile of poets–not exactly a high-paying gig–a specifies for the a poetry-minded ambassador for the province.

In honor of Gord’s new position, Gord provides this portrait.