Honorary Colonel John Newman SB STJ, CD served with the 48th Highlanders of Canada as a Junior Officer from 1957 to 1962. He accepted the appointment of Honorary Lieutenant in 2007 and was appointed Honorary Colonel in 2011.

He has been the Chairman and CEO of Multibanc Financial Holdings Limited, a private investment vehicle located in Toronto, since his retirement in 1990 as Deputy Chairman of Prudential Securities. Honorary Colonel Newman also served as Chairman of the First Canadian Place management committee from 1995 until 2007. He is currently Chairman of the AGF Family of Mutual Trusts and Corporations and is a director of a number of public and private Canadian corporations engaged in in real estate development, insurance, investment, mining, forestry and financing.

Honorary Colonel Newman is a member of the Senate of the St John Council for Ontario, Canada Company, the Royal Canadian Legion 165 Branch, the Royal Canadian Military Institute,  the Board of Directors of Commissionaires, Great Lake Financial and the Grey and Simcoe Foresters Honorable Guard. He is the Honorary Chairman of the 15th Battalion CEF Memorial Project and Operation Blue Puttees and Chairman of the St John Foundation Canada.