John Wright, the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Ipsos Ried’s North American Public Opinion Polling Division has been appointed Honourary Lieutenant-Colonel of The Ontario Regiment (Royal Canadian Armoured Corps) which is based in Oshawa, Ontario.  His role as an ‘Honourary’ will be to serve as a link between the community and the Canadian Forces.

Click here for John Wright's Biography   

Lieutenant-Colonel Wright’s appointment was recommended by the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Walt Natynczyk and approved by Peter MacKay, the Minister of National Defence on 24 June of this year.

Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Wright’s family has a legacy of military service dating back to the First World War.  His grandfather, Walter Wright, fought with the British Army (12th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment) and immigrated to Canada after being discharged in 1919.  On arrival, he immediately joined the 1st Edmonton Regiment and then served with the ‘Home Guard’ during the Second World War.  Lt Col Wright’s father fought the Second World War as a member of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps until 1944, joining the Royal Canadian Navy at the war’s end.  Lt Col Wright also lost his great uncle, William Wright, in the First World War.

Lt Col Wright has worked in advertising and public relations for almost 30 years.  He has served in both the political and corporate worlds of government relations spending the past 10 years as a vice president with a major advertising and public relations firm.  He had is own radio show on CFRB for almost 15 years with one of the top commentary panels in the country.  He regularly co-hosts and anchors Canada’s Business News Network’s daily market closing show ‘Squeeze Play’ and has appeared on many major news channels including CNN and Al Jazeera.

Lt Col Wright’s ‘outside work’ activities are diverse and extensive.  He serves on a number of boards including the Hincks Dellcrest’s Children’s Mental Health Centre, The Canadian Journalism Foundation, The Canadian Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington, The Canada Company and Cancer Care Ontario. 

He has received an Arbor Award from the University of Toronto and is a former Parliamentary Intern.   Lt Col Wright has been a founder and current lifetime member of the Public Affairs Association of Canada and a Vice-Chair for the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Studies.   In addition, he has been a member of the board for a diverse range of organizations which include Clarica Life Insurance, Alzheimer’s, The Heart and Stroke Foundation, The Empire Club of Canada, The Dominion Institute, the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, and the Association for the Defence of the Wrongly Convicted. 

In his very limited free time, Lt Col Wright has co-authored two national best-sellers; “What Canadians Think” and We Know What You’re Thinking”.

The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel R.M. Brown, and all ranks of the Ontario Regiment are extremely pleased with Lt Col Wright’s appointment.