Tom Denton has been a voice of compassion for the plight of the world’s refugees for more than 30 years. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, he came to Winnipeg in 1967 to practice corporate law. In 1980, he became the first publisher of The Winnipeg Sun, of which he is a co-founder. One year earlier, in 1979, Mr. Denton began his work with refugees when he sought assistance for a family of Vietnamese Boat People. In 1984, he entered the world of social service full time as executive director of Winnipeg’s International Centre. He was also a long-time volunteer with Winnipeg’s Hospitality House Refugee Ministry Inc., serving on its Board before becoming executive director in 2006. Hospitality House is a non-profit, Anglican and Roman Catholic-funded program that locates and resettles refugees and a major outreach ministry of St. John’s Cathedral. Recognized at home and abroad as a significant player in refugee work, it sponsors one-in-five of all the refugees being sponsored in Canada and Tom Denton has helped literally thousands of them. A former executive member of the Canadian Council for Refugees, Mr. Denton was also the first chairperson of the Immigration Council and the Winnipeg Arts Council.
