Andrew Petter, CM, OBC, KC is former Attorney General for the Province of British Columbia and holds law degrees from the University of Victoria where he was gold medalist and from the University of Cambridge where he achieved first class honours.

Andrew is a national authority in constitutional law and other areas of public law and policy. He practiced law with the Saskatchewan Department of Justice before teaching at Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Victoria Faculty of Law, where he served as dean from 2001 to 2008. He has written extensively on constitutional matters, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canadian federalism.

From 2010 to 2020, he served as president and vice chancellor of Simon Fraser University and was professor in its School of Public Policy. Under his leadership, SFU was regularly named Canada’s top comprehensive university in the Maclean’s Rankings, and in 2020 was ranked first in the world by Times Higher Education for its positive impact on sustainable cities and communities

From 1991 to 2001, he served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia and held numerous cabinet portfolios, including Aboriginal Affairs, Forests, Health, Finance, Advanced Education, Intergovernmental Relations, and Attorney General.

Andrew has received many honours and awards, including a King Charles III Coronation Medal, a Peter Lougheed Award for leadership in public policy, and Honorary Citizenship of the City of Victoria. He holds honorary degrees from Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and is an Honorary Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

He was admitted to the Order of Canada in 2018 and the Order of British Columbia in 2021 in recognition of his contributions to public policy and his leadership in advancing university-community engagement and higher education in Canada.