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Spring 2022 Honorary Degree Recipient

Doctor of Laws (honoris causa)

Elizabeth Fountain’s philanthropic leadership extends across Nova Scotia and Canada. Born in the Spryfield neighbourhood of Halifax, her generosity and dedication to health, the arts, education, culture, and the environment have benefitted dozens of organizations. She and her husband Fred have provided transformative charitable support to organizations as wide-ranging as the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Symphony Nova Scotia and the National Arts Centre, to name a few. They’ve also made significant donations to several universities, including ±«Óãtv — most notably the transformative gift that helped create the Fountain School of Performing Arts. The Fountains, in partnership with the QEII Health Sciences Centre Foundation, also founded the Stay Connected Mental Health Project in honour of their son, Alex, who died by suicide in 2009. 

Elizabeth Fountain has been awarded honorary degrees from the University of King’s College and Mount Saint Vincent University, her alma mater. In 2017, she was honoured by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health as a National Difference Maker. She is also an honorary trustee of the QEII Health Sciences Centre Foundation, a distinguished patron of the National Gallery of Canada, and is honorary co-chair for the ±«Óãtv Arts Centre Expansion Campaign.