The Honourable H. Wade MacLauchlan was the 32nd Premier of Prince Edward Island (2015-19) and served as PEI’s Attorney General as well as Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Intergovernmental Affairs, Justice and Public Safety, and, for a period, Finance. He served terms as Chair of the Council of the Federation, the Council of Atlantic Premiers, and the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers.
Mr. MacLauchlan previously served as Chair of the Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments in 2022.
Mr. MacLauchlan is President Emeritus of the University of Prince Edward Island, where he served as President from 1999 to 2011. He was previously Dean of Law at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) and founding Director of the UNB Centre for Property Studies. Prior to that, he was Associate Professor and Director of the Civil Law / Common Law Exchange Program at Dalhousie Law School. He served as law clerk in the Supreme Court of Canada in 1981-82 and was Administrative Law Editor of the Supreme Court Law Review from 1990 to 1993.
Mr. MacLauchlan is an honorary member of the Law Society of Prince Edward Island, and served on the Council of the Law Society of New Brunswick (1991-96) and as Chair of its Sesquicentennial Committee. He was an active member of the Council of Canadian Law Deans and the Canadian Association of Law Teachers (CALT), including as Chair of the CALT Special Advisory Committee on Equality in Legal Education.
Mr. MacLauchlan has played leadership roles in national and regional organizations, including as a director of the Public Policy Forum, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, the Association of Atlantic Universities, CANARIE Inc., the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, the Federation of PEI Municipalities, Dalhousie Legal Aid, the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, the Windsor Foundation, and the Medavie Health Foundation. He was a director of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and Chair of the AUCC Standing Advisory Committee on International Relations.
Mr. MacLauchlan has been recognized through membership in the Order of Canada (2008) and the Order of Prince Edward Island (2014). In 2010, he was awarded the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC)’s Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal for Public Service Leadership and, in 2013, he was an inaugural recipient of the Frank McKenna Award for outstanding contributions to public policy by Atlantic Canadians conferred by the Public Policy Forum. In July 2023, Mr. MacLauchlan was appointed Chancellor of the University of New Brunswick.
Mr. MacLauchlan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Prince Edward Island, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick, and a Master of Laws from Yale University. He lives in West Covehead, PEI with his partner Duncan McIntosh.