Michael Kelway Oliver (February 2, 1925 – September 29, 2004) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

academic, political organizer and the sixth president of

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada. Oliver was born in

North Bay, Ontario North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing. North Bay developed as a railroad centre, and its airport was an important military ...

on February 2, 1925. He finished his BA, MA and PhD studies at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

in 1948, 1950 and 1957 respectively. He stayed at McGill to teach economics and political science, eventually founding the school's French Canada Studies program. From 1967 to 1972, he was McGill's vice-principal (academic). While teaching at McGill, Oliver became actively interested in the left-wing Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). When that party morphed into the New Democratic Party in 1961, Oliver was its first federal president, a post he held until 1963. He then began a six-year stint as research director of the

Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (french: Commission royale d’enquête sur le bilinguisme et le biculturalisme, also known as the Bi and Bi Commission and the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission) was a Canadian royal commissio ...

, a body co-chaired by then Carleton University president Davidson Dunton — the man Oliver would eventually replace in 1972. Oliver's tenure as Carleton's president was a period of serious financial hardship for the university owing to dwindling provincial funding and a post-baby-boom decline in enrolment growth. Oliver's cutbacks did not endear him to the faculty, but the student government would later name its flagship campus bar Oliver's after him. Oliver never lost his sense of humour, nor his capacity for being frank. At the Fall Convocation in 1978 (his last), his speech included the following sentence: "I came to Carleton the same way I am leaving: 'Fired with enthusiasm'". From 1993 to 1996, Oliver was national president of the

United Nations Association A United Nations Association (UNA) is a non-governmental organization that exist in various countries to enhance the relationship between the people of member states and the United Nations to raise public awareness of the UN and its work, to promot ...

in Canada. From 1980, he was the first president of the

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) is an independent think tank in Canada. It has been described as "left leaning". The CCPA concentrates on economic policy, international trade, environmental justice and social policy. It is ...

. Oliver married Joan Nelson in 1941 and had five children: David, James, Victoria, Geoffrey and Cynthia. He died two years after being inducted as an officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

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Obituary
''Ottawa Citizen'', Oct. 1, 2004. (Reprinted on UNA website, last accessed July 24, 2006.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Michael 1925 births 2004 deaths Canadian Anglicans Presidents of Carleton University McGill University alumni McGill University faculty Officers of the Order of Canada People from North Bay, Ontario Presidents of the New Democratic Party of Canada

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