Mitchell Sharp | |
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_(cropped_3-4).jpg) Sharp,c. 1962 | |
| Leader of the Government in the House of Commons | |
| In office 8 August 1974 – 13 September 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Allan MacEachen |
| Succeeded by | Allan MacEachen |
| President of the Privy Council | |
| In office 8 August 1974 – 13 September 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Allan MacEachen |
| Succeeded by | Allan MacEachen |
| Secretary of State for External Affairs | |
| In office 20 April 1968 – 7 August 1974 | |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Paul Martin Sr. |
| Succeeded by | Allan MacEachen |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 18 December 1965 – 19 April 1968 Acting: 11 November 1965 – 17 December 1965 | |
| Prime Minister | Lester B. Pearson |
| Preceded by | Walter L. Gordon |
| Succeeded by | Edgar Benson |
| Minister of Trade and Commerce | |
| In office 22 April 1963 – 3 January 1966 | |
| Prime Minister | Lester B. Pearson |
| Preceded by | Malcolm Wallace McCutcheon |
| Succeeded by | Robert Winters |
| Member of Parliament forEglinton | |
| In office 8 April 1963 – 1 May 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Fleming |
| Succeeded by | Rob Parker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mitchell William Sharp (1911-05-11)11 May 1911 |
| Died | 19 March 2004(2004-03-19) (aged 92) |
| Party | Liberal |
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| Alma mater | |
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Mitchell William SharpPC CC FRCMT(hon) (11 May 1911 – 19 March 2004) was aCanadian civil servant and politician, most noted for his service as aLiberalCabinet minister. He served in both the private and public sectors during his long career.
Sharp was born inWinnipeg,Manitoba. He earned hisBachelor of Arts degree from theUniversity of Manitoba in 1934 and completed post-graduate work at that university and then at theLondon School of Economics. During this time, he worked as a writer focusing on thegrain trade.
Sharp started his long career in public service in 1942[1][2] when he was offered a position at the Department of Finance. In 1947 he was named director of the department's Economic Policy Division.[1] From 1951 to 1957, Sharp served as the Associate Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce. During his tenure, he was responsible for international trade relations. Soon after, Sharp served a short term as the Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce.
In 1963, Mitchell Sharp was elected as amember of Parliament (MP) representingEglinton. Shortly thereafter, he was assigned the portfolio ofMinister of Trade and Commerce. From 1965 through 1968, Sharp was theMinister of Finance. Other ministerial positions held includeSecretary of State for External Affairs (1968–1974), where he developed thethird option, a proposal to diversify Canada away from the United States to maintain “assure greater Canadian independence.”,[3] President of thePrivy Council (1974–1978) andLeader of the Government in the House of Commons (1974–1978). Sharp resigned as a parliamentarian in 1978.
Sharp disliked Canada's constitutional structure, revealing in his 1994 memoirs that because of his negative views onthe monarchy, he refused to acceptPrime MinisterPierre Trudeau's offer to recommend him for appointment asgovernor general.[4] He also stated that "Canada should have its own head of state who isn't shared by others" and that the status quo gave the impression that "Canada had not yet achieved full independence from Britain."[5]
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Sharp's support was influential in securing a prominent position for theCanadian Pavilion atExpo 67 during theCanadian Centennial, which had initially been proposed to be much smaller, limited to a single acre.[6]
Sharp re-entered the public sector as the commissioner of the Northern Pipeline Agency, an agency formed under the Northern Pipeline Act (1978) to give effect to the U.S.-Canada Agreement on Principles Applicable to a Northern Natural Gas Pipeline (1977), from 1978 until 1988. His public service continued as he served as a co-chairman of a task force onconflict of interest and published a report on ethical conduct in the public service in 1984. Other posts included head of theCanadian group and deputy chairman of theTrilateral Commission (1976–1986). From 1988 through 1993, he served as a policy associate with Strategion. He was a personal adviser toPrime MinisterJean Chrétien from 1993 to 2003, a job for which he was paid$1 a year.
On February 22, 2004, Sharp fell and broke hiscollarbone in hishome. He was taken toElizabeth Bruyere Health Centre (hospital), inOttawa, where he was diagnosed with an aggressive form ofprostate cancer; that disease claimed his life on March 19 of that year. He was 92. He is buried in Ottawa.
Mitchell Sharp was sworn in as a member of theQueen's Privy Council for Canada on 22 April 1963, giving him the honorific prefixThe Honourable and thepost-nominal letters "PC" for life.
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| Ribbon | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Order of Canada (CC) |
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| Canadian Centennial Medal |
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| Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal |
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| 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal |
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| Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal |
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Michell Sharp received severalhonorary degrees in recognition of his service to Canada.
| Country | Date | School | Degree |
|---|---|---|---|
 Manitoba | 1965 | University of Manitoba | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[9] |
 Ontario | 6 June 1977 | University of Western Ontario | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[10] |
| Ontario | 1994 | Carleton University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[11] |
| Ontario | June 1995 | McMaster University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[12] |
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There is a Mitchell Sharpfonds atLibrary and Archives Canada.[13]
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