Jesse Wente - writer, broadcaster, arts leader and advocate - receives U of T honorary degree

Published: June 15, 2026

By Rahul Kalvapalle

Over a nearly three-decade-long career, Jesse Wente has emphasized the power of the arts to set agendas, shape histories and build a better future.

A broadcaster, writer and advocate for Indigenous rights and representation, Wente - who is Anishinaabe and an off-reserve member of Serpent River First Nation on the north shore of Lake Huron - has pushed Canada's cultural institutions to reckon with their colonial legacies and create space for Indigenous self-expression and sovereignty.

Today, the celebrated arts journalist and commentator receives an honorary doctorate from the University of Toronto in recognition of his transformative leadership in advancing Indigenous representation and storytelling across Canada's cultural sector, and for his lifelong commitment to truth-telling, education and advocacy.

Born in Toronto in 1974, Wente earned a degree in cinema studies from U of T in 1996 - the first Indigenous student to graduate from the program.

He went on to take his first steps in a long and storied career at CBC Radio, where he became one of Canada's most influential film and cultural critics. Over the years, he leveraged his growing influence and audience at CBC to challenge traditional portrayals of Indigenous Peoples in popular culture and speak out about their consequences.

He has credited U of T for helping him develop his critical thinking skills and shaping his understanding of film as both art form and cultural force. "An enormous part of who I've become, the life I've led since then, started in earnest at the university," he said in a U of T video in 2019.

Alongside his broadcasting career, Wente worked and volunteered at several major cultural institutions.

He spent more than a decade at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), including as head of TIFF Cinematheque, where he oversaw programming and film preservation projects. In 2018, he became the first executive director of the Indigenous Screen Office, a national organization dedicated to strengthening Indigenous control over screen storytelling and supporting Indigenous film and television creators.

In 2020, Wente was appointed chair of the Canada Council for the Arts, becoming the first Indigenous person in the role at Canada's federal public arts funder. In an interview with APTN News, he addressed the tension inherent in chairing a Crown corporation as an Indigenous person. "I do think it is important that First Nations, Métis and Inuit people take on leadership roles even in colonial institutions because it's time and these places do affect us and our lives," he said. "And so we, just as any other Canadian, have a right to have the opportunity to help govern and set the agenda for these sorts of places."

Wente has long insisted that storytelling is a vital act of cultural preservation. "One of the great acts of decolonization is to create," he said in a keynote address at the Canadian Media Producers Association's Prime Time conference in Ottawa in 2017. "Make art. Tell stories."

In 2021, he published his first book, Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance. Part memoir, part exploration of Canada's relationship with Indigenous Peoples and part call to action, the book was a national bestseller and was named one of the best books of 2021 by Chapters-Indigo, Apple Books and the Globe and Mail. It earned Wente the Rakuten-Kobo Emerging Writers Prize in Non-Fiction.

Wente has earned an array of other honours for his efforts across broadcasting, institution-building and cultural policy, including the Association of Ontario Health Centres Media Award and the Reelworld Film Festival's Reel Activist Award. He also received U of T's Arbor Award in recognition of his contributions to Innis College, which include helping showcase the work of Indigenous filmmakers through the Canadian Film Forum and advising college leadership on Indigenous issues. In 2025, he was named Indigenous storyteller-in-residence at Toronto Metropolitan University.

He has urged students to remain open to unexpected avenues of growth and opportunity.

"Understand what you are passionate about and be prepared for it to change as your life changes and you get more experience," he said in a U of T Alumni Relations interview. "Don't commit yourself to a single path. Experiment a bit, and do not be afraid of risk, of disruption."

He added that it's important for students to stay true to themselves. "Know what you value, what is close to your heart."