Andrew Petter, CM, OBC, KC Counsel

Telephone: 778.557.2402
E-mail: petter@arvayfinlay.ca Pronouns: he/him/his Administrative Support: Tiffany Webb (250.380.2788)

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 received the Law Society Gold Medal and Prize, 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, having practiced with the Saskatchewan Department of Justice and taught 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 those involving 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 a professor in its School of Public Policy.  Under his leadership, SFU was named Canada’s top comprehensive university in the Maclean’s University Rankings for nine of ten years, 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, Finance, Advanced Education, Intergovernmental Relations and Attorney General.    

Andrew has been the recipient of many awards and honours, including Public Policy Forum’s Peter Lougheed Award for exceptional leadership in public policy, an Honorary Fellowship at Emmanuel College Cambridge in recognition of his academic leadership, and Honorary Citizenship of the City of Victoria for his work in restoring heritage structures, expanding parks and developing the Galloping Goose and Lochside trail systems.

In 2018, he was appointed to the Order of Canada in recognition of his contributions to public policy and his leadership in advancing university-community engagement and higher education throughout the country. In 2021 he was appointed to the Order of British Columbia in recognition of his transformative impact on the province in relation to public policy, legal engagement and community betterment.