James George Eayrs, (13 October 1926 – 6 February 2021) was a Canadian political scientist and journalist.

Biography

Eayrs won the

Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a non-fiction book written in English. Since 1987 it is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Litera ...

at the 1965 Governor General's Awards for his book ''In Defence of Canada: From the Great War to the Great Depression''. The book, which examined Canadian military and defence policy during the period between the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, was the first in a multi-volume series on Canadian military history and was followed by ''In Defence of Canada, Vol. 2: Appeasement and Rearmament'' (1965), ''In Defence of Canada: Peacemaking and Deterrence'' (1972), ''In Defence of Canada: Growing Up Allied'' (1980) and ''In Defence of Canada: Indochina, Roots of Complicity'' (1983). A professor of

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and later of political science at

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 ...

, he was awarded the

Canada Council Molson Prize The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by the Canada Council, Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and human ...

in 1984 and was named a

fellow of the Royal Society of Canada Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Canada judges to have "made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life" ...

. In 1985, he was appointed to the Order of Canada. Eayrs was also active as a journalist, writing a weekly public affairs column for the

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English language, English-language Canada, Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950 ...

and later the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

. As a broadcaster, he wrote for the CTV series ''Here Come the Seventies'' and then cohosted with Charlotte Gobeil the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

television program, ''Weekend''. His wife, Elizabeth Eayrs, sat on

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...

from 1972 to 1978.

References

1926 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Canadian historians 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian male writers Alumni of the London School of Economics Canadian male non-fiction writers Columbia University alumni Academic staff of Dalhousie University Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Governor General's Award–winning non-fiction writers University of Toronto alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto Officers of the Order of Canada British emigrants to Canada {{Canada-historian-stub