David A. Anderson | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Anderson in 2011 | |||||||||||||||
| Minister of the Environment | |||||||||||||||
| In office August 3, 1999 – July 20, 2004 | |||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Jean Chrétien Paul Martin | ||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Christine Stewart | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Stéphane Dion | ||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament forEsquimalt—Saanich | |||||||||||||||
| In office June 25, 1968 – July 24, 1972 | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | George Chatterton | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Donald Munro | ||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament forVictoria | |||||||||||||||
| In office October 25, 1993 – January 23, 2006 | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | John Brewin | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Denise Savoie | ||||||||||||||
| Member of theBritish Columbia Legislative Assembly forVictoria | |||||||||||||||
| In office August 30, 1972 – December 11, 1975 Serving with Newell Morrison | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | William Chant Waldo McTavish Skillings | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Charles Frederick Barber Sam Bawlf | ||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1937-08-16)August 16, 1937 (age 88) | ||||||||||||||
| Political party | Liberal | ||||||||||||||
| Residence | Victoria | ||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Victoria University of British Columbia | ||||||||||||||
| Profession | Journalist, lawyer | ||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||
| Sports career | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
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David A. Anderson,PC OC OBC (born August 16, 1937) is a silver medal rower, academic, politician and formerCanadian cabinet minister.[1]
Anderson was born inVictoria, British Columbia. He was educated at Victoria College,Aiglon College and at theUniversity of British Columbia Faculty of Law; he graduated in 1962 with a LLB. During his UBC days Anderson won a silver medal for rowing in the1960 Summer Olympics inRome, and a silver medal in the1959 Pan American Games inChicago.[2] He was also a pilot in the University Reserve of theRoyal Canadian Air Force.
Anderson served as a foreign service officer in theDepartment of External Affairs between 1962 and 1968. His posts includedIndochina (International Supervisory And Truce Commissions) 1963–1964, Assistant Canadian Trade Commissioner inHong Kong, 1964–1967, andChina Desk Officer in Ottawa 1967–1968. In Hong Kong, Anderson attended the Institute of Oriental Studies of theUniversity of Hong Kong and obtained the British Foreign Officer Higher Standard Certificate inMandarin.
He was elected Liberal MP for the constituency ofEsquimalt—Saanich onVancouver Island in the1968 federal election. Four years later he switched to provincial politics, and was elected leader of theprovincial Liberal Party (April 1972), then the third party in the provincial legislature with 5 out of 55 seats.
Although elected himself in the 1972 election, representing the constituency of Victoria, the Liberal Party did not increase its seat total. Anderson served as Member of the Legislative Assembly until his defeat in December 1975.[3]
During this period of elected office Anderson was prominent in representing Canadian concerns over offshore oil drilling, pipeline developments in Northern Canada, and oil tanker traffic between Alaska and the Lower 48 states.
Between 1976 and 1984, Anderson worked as an environmental consultant and adjunct professor at theUniversity of Victoria's School of Administration, where he taught in the fields of constitutional and administrative law, and environmental policy. His environmental work focused on coastal and wetland protection andmarine pollution from oil exploration and transportation.
Anderson was appointed as a member of the Immigration Appeal Board for a 10-year term in 1984. He served from March 1, 1984, until December 31, 1988, when the board was dissolved.
In the 1993 federal general election to the35th Canadian Parliament Anderson re-entered elected politics. He was elected MP for Victoria and retained this position for three subsequent elections, ending when he retired from politics in January 2006. During this period, he served in the cabinet of Prime MinisterJean Chrétien as Minister of National Revenue (1993–1995), Minister of Transport (1995–1997), Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (1997–1999) and Minister of the Environment (1999–2006). He also was appointed the regional political minister for British Columbia, which he retained until 2002.
Anderson's time in the fisheries portfolio was marked by considerable controversy with the commercial fishing industry as he worked for strict conservation measures to protect fish stocks. These measures included a complete ban on the killing ofCoho salmon. After six years of previous failures, he succeeded in getting an agreement with the United States under thePacific Salmon Treaty to conserve salmon stocks and to end the destructive competitive fishing by the US and Canadian commercial fleets.[4]
In thecabinet shuffle of 1999 midway through the36th Canadian Parliament, Chrétien appointed AndersonEnvironment Minister. He served in that post for the following five years, making him the longest serving Canadian environment minister. In this period Anderson's work largely centered on theRio Summit conventions on biodiversity and climate change.
Anderson implemented theGovernment of Canada Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change in tandem withPaul Martin's2000 Canadian federal budget.[5]
Anderson retained his seat in the37th Canadian Parliament and was successful in getting theSpecies at Risk Act passed by Parliament and signed into law (2004). and, despite strong objections from the governments ofSaskatchewan,Alberta andOntario and the federal Official Opposition, in securing Canadian ratification of theKyoto Protocol in December 2002. Other initiatives involved improving air and water quality and established improved federal provincial cooperation on environmental issues.
In international work, Anderson was the first Canadian elected as president of the governing council of theUnited Nations Environment Programme, a post he held for two years. He took a prominent part in theG8 andOECD Environment Minister's meetings. Anderson was dropped from cabinet by Prime Minister Paul Martin in 2004 and did not run in the 2006 election.
In February 2007, he was named director of theGuelph Institute for the Environment, from which he retired in 2010.[6]
Anderson has received a number of environmental awards, including the John Fraser Award for Environmental Achievement from theSierra Club of Canada (2005),[7] the Dr. Andrew Thompson Award fromWest Coast Environmental Law for his lifetime contributions to the environment and sustainability in British Columbia (2004), and the 50th anniversary International Conservation Award (1998) from theAtlantic Salmon Federation.
He was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in laws by theUniversity of Victoria in 2007,[8] and an honorary doctorate of science fromWilfrid Laurier University in 2009.[9] He was appointed an Officer of theOrder of Canada in 2010[10] and named to theOrder of British Columbia in 2018.[11]
Anderson is married with two children.
There is a David Andersonfonds atLibrary and Archives Canada.[12]
