Prominent Peterborough lawyer, former city councillor, and civic leader Ann Farquharson has passed away at the age of 68.
kawarthaNOW has learned that Farquharson died overnight in her sleep on Monday (November 24).
Born and raised in Peterborough, Farquharson was the second of three children to Belleville natives Gordon and Elizabeth. Her father, a decorated pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, was a prominent lawyer in Peterborough for 55 years. Her mother was active in the Peterborough community for over 50 years, and was named Citizen of the Year in 1989 for her work restoring Hutchison House and the Pagoda Bridge at Jackson Park.
Farquharson attended Westmount Public School and Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School before going on to study at Trent University, where she graduated in 1981 with an honours degree in North American history. Following in her father’s footsteps, she studied law at the University of British Columbia and was called to the bar in 1985.
She returned to Peterborough in 1986 and began practising law with her father and his partner James Daly in their law firm, where she focused on family law, real estate, and litigation. She worked alongside her father until he retired in 2002 at the age of 81.
In 2006, she entered local politics and was elected as a Town Ward councillor and served a four-year term. Aside from her time in local politics, she was also a longtime Liberal supporter and organizer.
Farquharson had a long history of civic leadership in Peterborough, sitting on the boards of the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area, the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Association of Peterborough, the former Peterborough Civic Hospital (now Peterborough Regional Health Centre), and the Peterborough Lakefield Police Services Board.
She also served on committees with Five Counties Children’s Centre, PRHC’s Women’s Health Care Centre, the Down Syndrome Association of Peterborough, the Arborough Games, the Save The Market Hall campaign, the Peterborough Theatre Guild, the Peterborough Centennial Celebration, the Peterborough Youth Commission, the Festival of Lights (now Peterborough Musicfest), and the Peterborough Law Association.
Farquharson was also chair of the Citizens’ Advisory Committee for Flood Planning, sponsorship chair of the Peterborough Flood Relief Concert, president of the Peterborough chapter of the Trent University Alumni Association, and a cabinet member with the YWCA Crossroads Safe Haven committee.
In 2018, the Trent University Alumni Association recognized Farquharson for her contributions to the university, the association, and the community with the Spirit of Trent Award. She continued to be involved with Trent University throughout her career, including serving as Trent University’s human rights lawyer for several years, providing legal advice on the rights and obligations of stakeholders and assisting in dispute resolutions and advanced solutions.
Farquharson established the Gordon Henry Taylor Farquharson Bursary at Trent University in memory of her father, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 83 (her mother, Elizabeth, passed away three years later at the age of 80).
Farquharson remained very active in the community prior to her death, including most recently by volunteering as a member of the United Way Peterborough & District’s 2025-26 campaign cabinet, participating in a public open house about the city’s proposed community planning permit system, and appearing before Peterborough city council to provide her opinion on the police station expansion project.
This story will be updated with details about a funeral service and reception when they become available.
