Retirement and Later Years
After retiring from the army, he worked for Halifax Insurance Company, and Toronto Brick and Associates. He was active with Royal Life Saving Society of Canada, the Gurkha Appeal, the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires and was chairman of the National Ballet of Canada.
He criticized the government for seeking closer ties with the US, and opposed the reliance on nuclear weapons, advocating strong conventional forces. Simonds proposed the use of aerial supply to reduce the vulnerability of army divisional supply chains. Dubious of air-power advocates, he foresaw the increasing use of missiles. He believed in the "integration" of defense headquarters, but opposed the Hellyer "unification" of the armed forces.
A street is named after him in Antwerp ("Generaal Simondslaan"). Simonds was honorary colonel of the Royal Regiment of Canada at the time of the regiment's 100th anniversary in October 1962. He was offered an honorary degree from RMC which he declined, as he had opposed the degree program, fearing the long tenure of civilian instructors would unduly influence the curriculum. On October 29, 1971 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Diagnosed with lung cancer, he died in Toronto on May 15, 1974. He was buried in Toronto's Mount Pleasant Cemetery after a service at Grace Church-on-the-Hill.
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