Parr-Johnston accepted the position of Senior Policy Analyst and Director of Government Affairs at Inco in 1976 where she remained for 3 years. She returned to the private sector in 1980, joining Shell Canada where she held numerous senior positions over her 10-year tenure.[3]
Employment & Immigration Canada
In 1979, Parr-Johnston won a political appointment as the Chief of Staff to Ron Atkey, the Canadian Minister of Employment and Immigration during the short-lived Conservative minority government. Among her many accomplishments at the Ministry, Parr-Johnston was involved in the secret extraction of six American Embassy workers who escaped to the safety of the Canadian Embassy in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis.[4]
Parr-Johnston was installed as the 16th President of the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1996. She completed one full six-year term in office before retiring to Nova Scotia with her husband Archie. In 2004, Parr-Johnston returned to UNB and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters for her contributions to the field of education. UNB named a student residence after Parr-Johnston.[6]
On March 20, 2005, the Canadian Minister of Finance announced the appointment of Parr-Johnston to the Independent Panel for Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing.[16] The purpose of the panel was to examine the existing system of federal transfer payments to the provinces and to recommend necessary changes to the process. The final report was delivered to the Minister in May 2006 and was adopted in its entirety by the Prime Minister of Canada.
Order of Canada
On February 22, 2008, Parr-Johnston was installed by the Governor General of Canada as a Member of the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honour. Parr-Johnston was recognized for her lifetime contributions to the field of education.[17] The Investiture Ceremony programme read as follows:
For decades, Elizabeth Parr-Johnston has made important contributions to the educational and voluntary sectors in Canada. As president of two universities in Atlantic Canada, she was highly respected for creating increased opportunities for women, notably by mentoring female faculty and by making education more accessible to women. Her expertise and wise counsel have been sought by public, private and community boards including those of the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation, the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies and Symphony Nova Scotia. As head of her own consulting company, she continues to contribute to public policy development in Canada.[18]
Parr-Johnston is the oldest child of F. Van S. Parr, Jr. and Helene Parr. Her late father was the Senior Partner of Whitman & Ransom and former National President of the Chi Psi (ΧΨ) Fraternity. Her brother, Dr. Grant V.S. Parr, is the former Chief of Cardiothoracic surgery at Atlantic Health. Her sister, Sally Cerny was an Instructor of Psychology at Rutgers University.
^"Essex Fells Social Notes", Verona-Cedar Grove Times, June 24, 1954. Accessed January 12, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Recent hostesses at a party for their classmates at Grover Cleveland High School held at the Essex Fells Auditorium were Elizabeth Parr, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. V. S. Parr of Forest Way..."
^Services, Government of Canada, Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, Information and Media. "Order of Canada". archive.gg.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
