Eric William Kierans (2 February 1914 – 10 May 2004) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and politician.

Early life

Eric Kierans was born on 2 February 1914, in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

to Irish immigrant parents. He grew up in a working-class neighborhood and attended Loyola College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in commerce. After graduation, Kierans worked for several years in the family fur and leather business before leaving to pursue a career in politics. He joined the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

and was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1962, representing the riding of Saint-Laurent. During his early life, Kierans was a passionate supporter of the cooperative movement and believed in the power of community organizing. He was also committed to

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

issues and worked to improve the lives of working-class Canadians. He died on 10 May 2004, at the age of 90.

Career

After serving as director of the school of

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and president of the

Montreal Stock Exchange The Montreal Exchange (MX; ), formerly the Montreal Stock Exchange (MSE), is a derivatives exchange, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that trades futures contracts and options on equities, indices, currencies, ETFs, energy and interest rates. ...

, Kierans entered provincial politics in 1963. Nicknamed the "Socialist Millionaire," he was appointed Minister of Revenue and then

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

in the Quebec Liberal government of

Quebec Premier The premier of Quebec ( (masculine) or eminine is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following that ...

Jean Lesage Jean Lesage (; June 10, 1912 – December 12, 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from July 5, 1960, to June 16, 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is often v ...

during the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution () was a period of socio-political and socio-cultural transformation in French Canada, particularly in Quebec, following the 1960 Quebec general election. This period was marked by the secularization of the government, the ...

. Kierans became president of the Quebec Liberal Party and clashed with former cabinet minister and colleague

René Lévesque René Lévesque ( ; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to seek, ...

in 1967, daring him to give up the idea of

Quebec separatism The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: ''mouvement souverainiste du Québec'', ) is a political movement advocating for Quebec's independence from Canada. Proponents argue that Quebecers form a distinct nation with a unique culture, language, ...

or quit the Liberal Party. Lévesque later quit the Liberal Party and established the '' Mouvement Souveraineté-Association'', which became Quebec's leading sovereigntist party as the ''

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (PQ; , ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishi ...

''. Initially a critic of

Walter L. Gordon Walter Lockhart Gordon (27 January 1906 – 21 March 1987) was a Canadian accountant, businessman, politician, and writer. Education Born in Toronto, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel H. D. L. Gordon, DSO, he was educated at Upper Canada Colleg ...

economic nationalism Economic nationalism or nationalist economics is an ideology that prioritizes state intervention in the economy, including policies like domestic control and the use of tariffs and restrictions on labor, goods, and capital movement. The core bel ...

, Kierans' experience in government changed his mind, and he became a believer in the need for state intervention in the economy. In 1968, Kierans entered federal politics running unsuccessfully for the leadership of the

at its 1968 leadership convention. He was elected to the

in the 1968 federal election. Kierans served as Postmaster-General and Minister of Communications in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

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Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

. He did not run for re-election in the 1972 election, partly as a result of his criticisms of Trudeau's economic policy. Kierans called for Canada to leave the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

(NATO) in 1969. He argued that the organization might have served a useful purpose on its initial formation but had since become anachronistic. Some others with the Trudeau government agreed with Kierans, but others strongly disagreed. The Trudeau government ultimately kept Canada in NATO but reduced Canada's troop deployment. He considered running for the leadership of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

in 1975 but declined in favour of

Ed Broadbent John Edward Broadbent (March 21, 1936 – January 11, 2024) was a Canadian social democracy, social-democratic politician and political scientist. He was leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 1975 to 1989, and a Member of Parliament (Ca ...

. After leaving politics, Kierans taught at McGill and

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

. In the 1980s, he became a familiar voice appearing with

Dalton Camp Dalton Kingsley Camp (September 11, 1920 – March 18, 2002) was a Canadians, Canadian journalist, politician, political strategist and commentator, and supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Although he was never electe ...

and

Stephen Lewis Stephen Henry Lewis (born November 11, 1937) is a Canadian politician, public speaker, broadcaster, and diplomat. He was the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations in the 1980s and was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democr ...

as part of a weekly political panel on

Peter Gzowski Peter John Gzowski (July 13, 1934 – January 24, 2002), known colloquially as "Mr. Canada", or "Captain Canada",Mary Gazze Canadian Press via The ''Toronto Star'', August 23, 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-27. was a Canadian broadcaster, write ...

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

radio show, '' Morningside''. In 1994, he 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 ...

References

External links

Eric Kierans, 90
Globe and Mail obituary
Eric Kierans, 90: Politician respected for candour
Toronto Star obituary
Order of Canada Citation
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kierans, Eric 1914 births 2004 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Canadian economists Canadian nationalists Academic staff of Dalhousie University Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Academic staff of McGill University Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians from Montreal Postmasters general of Canada Quebec Liberal Party MNAs 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec

Early life

Career

Archives

References

External links