Mr. W. Galen Weston is the Founding Patron of The Next Canada. He is the Chairman and President of George Weston, a company founded by his grandfather, George Weston, in 1882 that now processes and distributes food products throughout North America. He is the Chairman of Holt Renfrew (Canada), Selfridges (UK) and Brown Thomas (Ireland), as well as Vice-Chairman of Fortnum & Mason (UK). He is an Officer of the Order of Canada (1990), a member of the Order of Ontario (2005) and a Commander in the Order of St. John (1997). He holds a Bachelor of Arts and an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario. He is Past Chairman of the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific (Canada), a past member of the International Advisory Council of Columbia University and an Honorary Trustee of The Upper Canada College Foundation. Mr. Weston is also Chairman and President of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation (Canada), a family foundation that for four decades has made charitable grants in Canada for the benefit of Canadians, and which now directs the majority of its funds to organizations in the fields of education and conservation.