Episode 62: Roy Stewart

Roy Stewart, Q.C. practices law in Prince George and first became involved in public life by being elected as a School Board Trustee in 1981 and remained on that board until 1988. He was chair of the board from 1984. At the same time, he was the Canadian Bar Cariboo Representative on the Provincial Counsel from 1981 to 1987.

In 1988 Roy Stewart joined the Interior University Society as a director and became president of that ground-breaking society in 1989. He guided the Society until the University of Northern British Columbia was officially created by Act of the Legislature in 1992.

The Provincial Government appointed him as the first president of the UNBC Foundation in 1992 for a three-year term. In 1998 Roy Stewart led a group of lawyers in their quest to have the new Court House developed in Prince George. It is a solid development in the Downtown area.

In private practice, Roy Stewart was the solicitor for the City of Prince George for 20 years, until 2001. In that role, he advised the City of Prince George on all matters. In addition, he acted as solicitor for the Regional District of Fraser Fort George, the District of Mackenzie, and other local governments.

In 1992-1993, Roy was chair of the Fund-Raising committee of UNBC, and developed a fund-raising plan, entitled North to the Future, which was presented to the Board and adopted by UNBC in 1993. The object of that plan was to create an endowment for academic positions and student support and enlisted the support of communities, colleges, and businesses located primarily in North Central British Columbia.

As a director and now as president of the Prince George Symphony Orchestra (PGSO), Roy makes it his mission to get the finances of that organization under control and to develop a legacy fund to stabilize income for the future. He believes the PGSO is the premiere cultural asset of the City of Prince George.

​Roy is a former CITIZEN OF THE YEAR recipient (1990) and has always regarded education as the key to a thriving democracy and has been active in this area all of his life. Roy has been an active member of the Prince George Golf & Curling Club for 46 years and was awarded an Honourary Doctorate of Laws Degree from the University of Northern British Columbia in 2017.