Murray McCheyne Thomson (December 19, 1922 – May 2, 2019) was a Canadian peace activist Thomson was born in Honan, China where his parents were Christian missionaries. Thomson founded many non-profits in Canada. He was the 1990 recipient of the

Pearson Medal of Peace The Pearson Medal of Peace is an award given out annually by the United Nations Association in Canada to recognize an individual Canadian's "contribution to international service". Nominations are made by any Canadian for any Canadian, excluding ...

for his work in peace and justice and was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2001. He was also awarded the (Canadian) Golden Jubilee Medal and the Diamond Jubilee Medal He is a former Executive Director of

CUSO Cuso International (formerly known as CUSO, Canadian University Service Overseas) is a Canadian international development organization that connects communities around the world with skilled Canadians to help end poverty and inequality. Establis ...

. He is credited in helping the formation of: *

Grindstone Island Grindstone Island is the fourth largest of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River and the second largest of the American islands in the St. Lawrence. The island lies near Lake Ontario and is part of the United States. In particular, the ...

* The Peacefund Canada Foundation (1980s) *

Peace Brigades International Peace Brigades International (PBI) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1981 which "protects human rights and promotes non-violent transformation of conflicts". It primarily does this by sending international volunteers to areas of confl ...

(1981) *

Project Ploughshares Project Ploughshares is a Canadian non-government organization which works to advance policies and actions to prevent war and armed violence and build peace located in the Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterlo ...

(1976) * Group of 78 (1980) * Canadian Friends of Burma (1990) * Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention (2012) Murray was a recognized international expert and advisor to governments, aid organizations, and lobbyists on

disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing Weapon, weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, ...

and

arms control Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Historically, arms control may apply to melee wea ...

. He was significantly involved in starting the United Nations World Disarmament Campaign and drafting its policy document, which was passed by the United Nations General Assembly. He continued to be active in advocating for

into 2019. For several years he led a campaign among members of the Order of Canada in calling for an international Nuclear Weapons Convention. Over 1,030 members of the Order have signed the statement as of May 2019. He died on May 2, 2019, in Ottawa, Canada.Murray Thomson at Peaceweb/Peace/Ottawa
/ref> His archives are held by

William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections __NOTOC__ The William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections is the principal repository for rare books, archives, maps and historical material at McMaster University. Developed to support teaching, research and scholarship, its holdi ...

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

Works

* *A Time to Disarm: A Discussion Guide for Stimulating a National Dialogue on Canada and the UN's Special Session on Disarmament, 23 May - 28 June 1978 By Ernie Regehr and Murray Thomson *Daring Confidence: The Life and Times of Andrew Thomson in China 1906–1942. By Murray Thomson *Toward a Culture of Peace: Can We Afford to Pay the Price? By Murray Thomson

Works

References

Further reading