Bull receives Doctor of Laws honorary degree from Ontario Tech University
By Sam Laskaris
TORONTO – Since her brother Terry is a physician, Tabatha Bull quips that the number of people in her family working in the medical field has now doubled.
Bull, the president and CEO of the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB), was recently awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Ontario Tech University, located in Oshawa.
“And I jokingly said there’s two doctors in the family,” said Bull, a member of Nipissing First Nation. “But we all know that there’s a very big difference.”
Bull has served as the CCIB’s president/CEO since March of 2020.
In a news release announcing her accolade, Ontario Tech University officials said Bull was being recognized for her exceptional contributions to economic reconciliation, Indigenous entrepreneurship, public policy, and equity in corporate Canada, and her tireless advocacy for Indigenous economic empowerment and equitable business practices.”
Bull did not attend Ontario Tech University as a student. She earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo. But she has a bit of a connection to the Oshawa university.
“I grew up in Port Perry, which isn’t far from the school,” she said.
Bull said she first heard the school was interested in honouring her this past October, while she was at an awards ceremony in Vancouver. The university’s chancellor phoned her to tell her the news.
“I’m not very good at accepting honours,” Bull said. “But after going through the process and being able to speak at the convocation to the students, it really means a lot. Just looking back at what I’ve been able to do in my career so far and I think because I didn’t have connection to the school, it also meant a lot just to know that people are out there watching. Maybe not people that I’m working with every day, but people see the impact we’re trying to make.”
This past February, Bull announced that she would be leaving the CCIB at some point this year. She is expected to remain in her current role until the end of the summer as the process of recruiting for her replacement takes place.
“I really don’t have a future plan,” said Bull, who lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons and who is keen to remain in the city. “I’ve been very intentional about being in the role fully until we have some better timelines and certainty, then start considering what else I might want to do.”
Bull had previously received an honorary diploma from Belleville’s Loyalist College in 2024.
Loyalist College had recognized Bull for her engineering accomplishments. Before joining the CCIB, Bull held various roles with the Independent Electricity System Operator, the Crown corporation in charge of operating the electricity market in Ontario.
Though she was presented with a Doctor of Laws, Bull spoke to the Ontario Tech University education graduates during their convocation in early June.
“There was an engineering graduating class that maybe I would have spoken to,” she said. “But I thought back about education, how important it was to me. So, it was really special to be able to speak to future teachers.”
During her honorary doctorate address, Bull said she was grateful for the award.
“Education has played a defining role in my life, and standing here today, I am very aware that none of us reaches a moment like this alone,” she said. “Behind every graduate seated before me today, there are teachers, mentors, families, and friends who helped make this day possible.”
Bull also told graduates that confidence changes futures. She also praised her parents for what she has achieved.
“I was fortunate to grow up in a home where education was valued deeply, even though my parents themselves did not attend post-secondary school,” she said. “They believed strongly that learning created opportunity, and they encouraged all of us to pursue education and to imagine possibilities beyond what we could immediately see around us. Their belief and that of my older siblings created a foundation of confidence that allowed me to consider paths that might otherwise have felt out of reach.”
Bull also said another moment that changed her life was a moment with a high school physics teacher who told her to consider an engineering career.
“At the time, I had never met an engineer,” Bull said. “I didn’t know what the profession looked like. And I certainly didn’t see many examples of Indigenous women working in that field. Without that conversation, without someone recognizing my strengths and encouraging me to consider that path, I am not sure I would have thought of engineering at all.”