Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper,
OCThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
,
QCQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of "Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law". Membership exists in various Commonwealth countries around the world and it is a status, conferred by the Crown,...
,
OMThe Order of Manitoba is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Instituted in 1996 by Lieutenant Governor Peter M. Liba, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Gary Filmon,
the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council,
and is...
(August 11, 1932 – October 7, 2003),
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
tax
lawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver...
and media magnate, was the founder of CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to current CEO and President
Leonard AsperLeonard Asper , is a Canadian businessperson and lawyer. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and the University of Toronto Law School.Leonard Asper is the son of the late Izzy Asper, founder of CanWest Global...
, current
directorA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. The body sometimes has a different name, such as board of trustees, board of governors, board of managers, or executive board...
and corporate secretary
Gail AsperGail Sheryl Asper, OC, OM is a director and corporate secretary of CanWest Global Communications Corp, president of the CanWest Global Foundation, and managing director and secretary of The Asper Foundation, the private charitable foundation spearheading the establishment of the $310 million...
, as well as Executive Vice President
David AsperDavid Asper is a Canadian businessman and lawyer. He is currently the Executive Vice President of the Canadian media company CanWest Global Communications Corp...
.
Israel Asper was born to a Jewish family in
Minnedosa, ManitobaMinnedosa is a town in the Canadian province of Manitoba near . It is situated 50 km north of Brandon, Manitoba. The name means "flowing water" in Sioux. The population of Minnedosa reported in the 2006 Statistics Canada Census is 2,474 .-History:...
, the son of musicians who had emigrated from
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
.
Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper,
OCThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
,
QCQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of "Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law". Membership exists in various Commonwealth countries around the world and it is a status, conferred by the Crown,...
,
OMThe Order of Manitoba is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Instituted in 1996 by Lieutenant Governor Peter M. Liba, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Gary Filmon,
the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council,
and is...
(August 11, 1932 – October 7, 2003),
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
tax
lawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver...
and media magnate, was the founder of CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to current CEO and President
Leonard AsperLeonard Asper , is a Canadian businessperson and lawyer. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and the University of Toronto Law School.Leonard Asper is the son of the late Izzy Asper, founder of CanWest Global...
, current
directorA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. The body sometimes has a different name, such as board of trustees, board of governors, board of managers, or executive board...
and corporate secretary
Gail AsperGail Sheryl Asper, OC, OM is a director and corporate secretary of CanWest Global Communications Corp, president of the CanWest Global Foundation, and managing director and secretary of The Asper Foundation, the private charitable foundation spearheading the establishment of the $310 million...
, as well as Executive Vice President
David AsperDavid Asper is a Canadian businessman and lawyer. He is currently the Executive Vice President of the Canadian media company CanWest Global Communications Corp...
.
Israel Asper was born to a Jewish family in
Minnedosa, ManitobaMinnedosa is a town in the Canadian province of Manitoba near . It is situated 50 km north of Brandon, Manitoba. The name means "flowing water" in Sioux. The population of Minnedosa reported in the 2006 Statistics Canada Census is 2,474 .-History:...
, the son of musicians who had emigrated from
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
. Asper attended the
University of ManitobaThe University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is also Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution.. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed in...
. In 1957 he received his Bachelor of law degree from the
University of ManitobaThe University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is also Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution.. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed in...
, and was called to the bar shortly thereafter. He founded the firm of Asper, Freedman & Co. in 1959. In 1970 he wrote
The Benson Iceberg: A critical analysis of the White Paper on Tax Reform in Canada.
Also in 1970, Asper was elected leader of the
Manitoba Liberal PartyThe Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...
(defeating university professor John Nesbitt). Asper represented a right-libertarian strain within the party. In the
Manitoba election of 1973The Manitoba General Election of June 28, 1973 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the social-democratic New Democratic Party, which took 31 of 57 seats...
, he promoted a laissez-faire economy, and advocated the elimination of the welfare state. He also advocated the public financing of election campaigns, to ensure that politics would not be dominated entirely by monied interests. His Liberals won only five seats, and Asper was elected in Wolseley by only four votes. He resigned as party leader and MLA in 1975, though he continued to support the
Manitoba Liberal PartyThe Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...
in later years.
His media
empireThe term empire derives from the Latin imperium. Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy...
started with the Winnipeg
television stationA television station is a type of broadcast station that broadcasts video and possibly audio to television receivers in a particular area. Traditionally, TV stations made their broadcasts by sending specially-encoded radio signals over the air, called terrestrial television...
CKND in 1975. CanWest grew to encompass the
Global Television NetworkGlobal Television Network is a Canadian English language privately owned television network. It is owned by Canwest Media Inc., a division of Canwest which is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Throughout the 1990s, it dominated primetime ratings in key markets such as southern Ontario, B.C...
, the daily newspaper
National PostThe National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, Ontario, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by CanWest Global Communications and is published every Monday through Saturday...
and over 60 other Canadian
newspaperA newspaper is a publication containing news, information, and advertising. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns that express the...
s.
Asper was noted for his fierce loyalty to
ManitobaManitoba is a prairie province in Canada and has an area of . Manitoba is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territory of Nunavut to the north, and the U.S. states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south...
, refusing enticements to move east to
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
. The faculty of management at the
University of ManitobaThe University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is also Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution.. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed in...
renamed itself the Asper School of Business in 2000. He was also a noted
philanthropistPhilanthropy is the effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.- Definition :It is generally agreed that the word was coined 2500 years ago in ancient Greece, by the playwright Aeschylus, or whom ever else wrote Prometheus Bound...
, making major donations to the
artArt is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture, and paintings...
s and
educationEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
; in 2001 he donated $5 million
CADThe Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents...
to the
St. Boniface Hospital & Research FoundationSt. Boniface General Hospital is Winnipeg's second largest hospital. Initially started by the Sisters of Charity of Montreal in 1871, it was the first hospital in Western Canada.St...
in Winnipeg. Asper became an Officer of the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
in 1995.
He was a prominent member of Canada's
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish community, and a vocal supporter for
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
.
Asper was also a close friend of many of Canada's prominent political and business elite, including
Jean ChrétienJoseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , is a Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003, and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1990 to 2003.-Early life:Chrétien was born on January 11, 1934 in Shawinigan, Quebec, as the 18th of 19...
and Paul Martin.
External links