Greg MacLeod (19352017) was a Canadian priest and educator from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Born in

Sydney Mines Sydney Mines (Mi'kmaq language, Mi'kmawi'simk: ''Klmuejuapskwe'katik;'' Scottish Gaelic: ''Mèinnean Shidni'') is a community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1784, and incorporated as a town i ...

in 1935, MacLeod attended the Holy Heart Seminary in Halifax and was ordained as a priest in 1961. In 1974 he become a professor of philosophy at the College of Cape Breton where he was involved in community organizations focused on economic and social development. He was a member 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 ...

. An account and analysis of MacLeod's life and community efforts was published in two books in 2019.

Life

MacLeod was born to a family of nine in

, Nova Scotia in 1935. His father worked in a coal mine, and died when MacLeod was seven years old. As a child he sold newspapers to provide income for his family. MacLeod was educated at Xavier Junior College in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He studied there for two years before moving to mainland Nova Scotia to complete his studies. Following his graduation, MacLeod attended the Holy Heart Seminary in Halifax, and was subsequently ordained as a priest in 1961. He earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Louvain in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, followed by post-doctoral studies at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. MacLeod became a professor of philosophy at the College of Cape Breton (later Cape Breton University) in 1974, where he founded the Tompkins Institute for Human Values and Technology. Through his work with the Tompkins Institute at Cape Breton University, MacLeod was the founder of two community organizations focused on driving economic development, namely New Dawn Enterprises and Banking Community Assets Group. He was known to donate part of his salary to the

Beaton Institute Beaton may refer to: Places *Beaton, British Columbia, locality in Canada * Beaton Creek, tributary of Columbia River, Canada People Surname * Beaton (surname), a surname with multiple origins, list of people with the name *Beaton medical kindr ...

and other causes. In 2016, ''

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'' erroneously reported that MacLeod was a distant relative of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. They later retracted the story after discovering it was an

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...

prank. MacLeod was a member of the

. He died at the age of 81 on 3 May 2017. He was remembered by Chief Terry Paul of

Membertou First Nation The Membertou First Nation ( Mi'kmawi'simk: ''Maupeltu'') is a Mi'kmaq First Nation band government in the tribal district of Unama'ki, also known as Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. As of 2012, the Mi'kmaq population is 814 on-Reserve, and appro ...

as "a very instrumental person for Cape Breton."

Legacy

In 2019, an account of MacLeod's life and community efforts written by Daniel Doucet was released, titled ''Father Greg: A Life''. A second book by Harvey Johnstone titled ''Boundary Exploration: The Entrepreneurial Experiments of Fr. Greg MacLeod'' was published the same year and provides insight on the cultural and economic impact of MacLeod's work.

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:MacLeod, Greg 1935 births 2017 deaths Members of the Order of Canada Canadian religion academics 20th-century Canadian Christian clergy 21st-century Canadian Christian clergy Academic staff of Cape Breton University People from Sydney, Nova Scotia Businesspeople from Nova Scotia 20th-century Canadian educators 21st-century Canadian educators