Mel Hurtig (June 24, 1932 – August 3, 2016) was a Canadian publisher, author, political activist, and political candidate. He was president of the

Edmonton Art Gallery The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is an art museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The museum occupies an building at Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton. The museum building was originally designed by Donald G. Bittorf, and B. James Wensley, alt ...

. He described himself as a

Canadian nationalist Canadian nationalism () has been a significant political force since the 19th century and has typically manifested itself as seeking to advance Canada's independence from the influence of the United Kingdom and United States. Since the 1960s, m ...

, while he also wrote several books critical of Canadian government policy.

Early life and education

Hurtig was born in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, on 24 June 1932. His parents were Jewish immigrants: his father from Romania and his mother from Russia. An alumnus of the Edmonton Talmud Torah, he grew up in Edmonton and graduated from high school there."Canadian nationalist Mel Hurtig dies at age 84"
''Toronto Star'', August 4, 2016, page A4.

Businessman, publisher and author

In 1956 at the age of 24 he opened a book store, Hurtig Books, on Jasper Avenue and 103rd street which later grew into a large retail book operation with three locations. His stores featured staging of plays, poetry readings, encouraged social interaction, and unusually, permitted drinking coffee. After selling his stores in 1972, he established Hurtig Publishers Ltd. with $30,000 in borrowed money. It became "one of the liveliest book publishing companies in Canada." In 1980, he started work on ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

'', spending $12 million on a comprehensive three-volume national encyclopedia first published in 1985. A second edition, which took four years to complete and cost $8.5 million to produce, appeared in four volumes in 1988. Much to the surprise of the publisher, the second edition was unexpectedly sold at up to a 55 per cent discount by national companies, roiling the market. In September 1990, Hurtig published the five-volume ''Junior Encyclopedia of Canada'', the first encyclopedia for young Canadians. He sold the company to

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

in May 1991."Mel Hurtig"

Hurtig was 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 ...

, was granted honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from six Canadian universities, and was the recipient of the

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. He also served as Leader of the Liberal Party of C ...

Man of the Year Peace Award.

Politics

In 1967 Hurtig became interested in politics when the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

was looking for a new leader in the wake of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Pearson's impending retirement. He ended up supporting

Justice Minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

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 ...

's successful bid for Liberal leadership. In 1972 he ran as a Liberal in the federal riding of

Edmonton West Edmonton West () is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1988, from 1997 to 2004 and again since 2015. Demographics History and g ...

. He finished second to longtime Progressive Conservative incumbent

Marcel Lambert Marcel Joseph Aimé Lambert (August 21, 1919 – September 24, 2000) was a Canadian politician and Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 1962 to 1963. Life and career Lambert was born in St. Albert, to a French Canadian father and a ...

. In 1973, he left the Liberal Party and joined with other nationalists including Walter Gordon, Jack McClelland, and

Claude Ryan Claude Ryan (January 26, 1925 – February 9, 2004) was a Canadian journalist and politician. He was the director of the newspaper ''Le Devoir'' from 1964 to 1978, leader of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1978 to 1982, National Assembly of ...

to establish the Committee for an Independent Canada (CIC), which lobbied against foreign ownership of Canadian economic assets and

cultural imperialism Cultural imperialism (also cultural colonialism) comprises the culture, cultural dimensions of imperialism. The word "imperialism" describes practices in which a country engages culture (language, tradition, ritual, politics, economics) to creat ...

. He served as Chair for the first year of the CIC. In 1985, Hurtig established

the Council of Canadians The Council of Canadians is a Canadian non-profit organization that advocates for clean water, fair trade, green energy, public health care, and democracy. The organization is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario with regional offices in Halifax, ...

, another nationalist organization, five years after the demise of the CIC. The primary purpose of this organization was to lobby against a perceived rising tide of support for free trade. He considered his establishment of the Council as the act he was "most proud of." He would leave in 1992 but the council survives to this day, albeit with a mission of social, environmental, and economic justice rather than nationalism. In 1992, Hurtig was elected leader of the

National Party of Canada The National Party of Canada was a short-lived Canadian political party that contested the 1993 federal election. The party is not related to the earlier National Party that was founded in 1979. Formation Founded and led by Edmonton, Alberta ...

an
led it
in the 1993 federal election. He ran in the riding of Edmonton Northwest, but with 4,507 votes and 12.8 per cent of the popular vote, finished a distant third to Liberal

Anne McLellan A. Anne McLellan (born August 31, 1950) is a Canadian politician and academic who served as the ninth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006. She was a cabinet minister in the Liberal governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin ...

. It was nonetheless the best showing of the National Party candidates in that election—notably, Hurtig was the only National Party candidate to finish ahead of an incumbent MP, namely Tory Murray Dorin.

Electoral record

Death

In 2005, Hurtig moved from Edmonton to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, in order to be closer to his four daughters. On 3 August 2016 he died there at a hospital, from complications from pneumonia. On the day of his death, one daughter, Leslie Hurtig, read him "newspaper headlines about the launch of the inquiry into murdered and missing women"; he responded, "Bravo", and died that afternoon, surrounded by family. In addition to his daughters, Hurtig was survived by four grandsons.

Recognition

* Canadian Book Publisher of the Year, 1974 and 1981 * Made an Officer of the

, (1980) *

Honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

LL.D A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degrees from

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

(1980),

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

(1985),

University of Lethbridge The University of Lethbridge (also known as uLethbridge, uLeth, and U of L) is a public comprehensive and research university located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with a second campus in Calgary, Alberta. Founded in the liberal arts traditio ...

(1986),

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

(1986),

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

(1990),

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

(1992) * Eve Orpen Award for Publishing and Literary Excellence, 1985"Mel Hurtig Wins Publishing Award," '' The Jewish Star'' (Edmonton), July 1985, p. 2 * Silver Ribbon Award, City of Edmonton, 1985 * Centenary Medal,

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

, 1986 * Alberta Achievement Award, 1986 *

Toastmasters International Toastmasters International (TI) is a US-headquartered nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping people develop communication, public speaking, and leadership skills. History On 24 March 1905, Dr ...

Communications and Leadership Award, 1986 * President's Award, Canadian Booksellers Association, 1986 * Quill Award, Windsor Press Club, 1986 * Speaker of the Year Award, Canadian Speech Communicators Association, 1986 * Corporate Citizen of the Year Award, Community of Business and Professional. Associates of Canada, 1988 *

Man of the Year Peace Award 1988 *

125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal The 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal () is a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada and was awarded to Canadians who were deemed to have made ...

(1992) * Canadian Version of the

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal () or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal was ...

(2002) * Canadian Version of the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

(2012)

Selected works

*
Nationalism and Continentalism
', 5 November 1981 speech at the

Empire Club of Canada The Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for many thousands of different speakers. Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and in ...

* ''The Betrayal of Canada'', 1991 * ''A New and Better Canada'', policy statement for the

How to solve Canada's economic mess without raising personal taxes or increasing the debtNational Party of Canada official platform document in 1993 election
. * ''At Twilight in the Country/Memoirs of a Canadian Nationalist'', 1996 *
Pay the Rent or Feed the Kids
', 2000 *
The Vanishing Country
', 2002 *
Rushing to Armageddon
', 2004 *
The Truth About Canada
', 2008 * ''The Arrogant Autocrat: Stephen Harper's Takeover of Canada'', 2015

References

External links

Mel Hurtig found outlet for patriotism through The Canadian Encyclopedia
Globe and Mail obituary by Ian Bailey, 8 Aug 2016
Mel Hurtig archival fonds
is held at the University of Alberta Archives. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurtig, Mel 1932 births 2016 deaths Alberta candidates for Member of Parliament Businesspeople from Edmonton Canadian book publishers (people) Canadian encyclopedists Canadian nationalists Canadian people of Romanian-Jewish descent Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent Canadian political writers Candidates in the 1972 Canadian federal election Jewish Canadian politicians Jewish Canadian writers Leaders of political parties in Canada Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons National Party of Canada candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians from Edmonton Writers from Edmonton