Mike Walton

Honours Bachelor of Outdoor Recreation 1983
michael.walton@shaw.ca

Landing in Thunder Bay from Toronto to start at LU in 1979, Mike fell in love with the idea of wilderness and Lake Superior. He has spent his life hiking, paddling and camping in some of the most beautiful places in Canada, including the north shore of Lake Superior.

Working with Ontario Parks, Parks Canada and the Regional Park System in Victoria, B.C., Mike has been a Provincial Park Warden, a Provincial and National Park Interpreter, a National Park Superintendent and Regional Director. Mike has also worked in Northwestern Ontario, as an Economic Development Manager, a Human Resources Coordinator in the forest industry, and a Junior Ranger with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Most recently, Mike was Senior Advisor to the Premier of the Yukon on parks and biodiversity.  Mike says being a Junior Ranger at Aaron Provincial Park was the best job by far!  

Mike received a diploma in Economic Development from the University of Waterloo in 1992, a M.Sc in Parks and Recreation Resources Management from Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania in 1994, and in 2017, Mike received a PhD in Geography from the University of Victoria focusing on Governance of Protected Areas.

Mike and his wife Sylvie, along with their three grown children and grandchildren live in Whitehorse, Yukon where Mike consults on Parks and Protected Area establishment, Indigenous relations, governance and management. Mike maintains his academic connection to Lakehead University as an Adjunct Professor with the Outdoor Recreation, Parks, and Tourism (ORPT) program.  Mike and Sylvie regularly make trips back to Ontario to visit family living between Toronto and Kenora.