Izzy Asper
Encyclopedia
Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper, (August 11, 1932 – October 7, 2003), Canadian
tax lawyer
and media magnate, was the founder of the now defunct CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO and President Leonard Asper
, former director
and corporate secretary Gail Asper
, as well as Executive Vice President David Asper
. He was also the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party
from 1970 to 1975.
, the son of musicians who had emigrated from the Ukraine
. Asper attended the University of Manitoba
. In 1957 he received his law degree from the University of Manitoba
, 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 Party
(defeating university professor John Nesbitt). Asper represented a right-libertarian strain within the party. In the Manitoba election of 1973
, 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 Party
in later years.
His media empire
started with the Winnipeg
television station
CKND-TV
in 1975. CanWest grew to encompass the Global Television Network
, the daily newspaper National Post
and over 60 other Canadian newspaper
s.
Asper was noted for his fierce loyalty to Manitoba
, refusing enticements to move east to Toronto
. The faculty of management at the University of Manitoba
renamed itself the Asper School of Business in 2000. He was also a noted philanthropist
, making major donations to the art
s and education
; in 2001 he donated $5 million CAD
to the St. Boniface Hospital & Research Foundation
in Winnipeg. Asper became an Officer of the Order of Canada
in 1995.
He was a prominent member of Canada's Jewish community, and a vocal supporter for Israel
.
Asper was also a close friend of many of Canada's prominent political and business elite, including Jean Chrétien
and Paul Martin.
Controversially, Asper's newspaper chain fired journalist Russell Mills
when he wrote an article which was critical of Jean Chretien and demanded he resign.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
tax lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and media magnate, was the founder of the now defunct CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO and President Leonard Asper
Leonard Asper
Leonard 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...
, former director
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
and corporate secretary Gail Asper
Gail Asper
Gail 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 Asper
David Asper
David Asper is a Canadian businessman and lawyer. He is the former Executive Vice President of the Canadian media company CanWest Global Communications Corp. He is also a Professor at the Robson Hall Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba.Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Asper is the eldest son...
. He was also the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party
Manitoba Liberal Party
The 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 :...
from 1970 to 1975.
Life and career
Israel Asper was born to a Jewish family in Minnedosa, ManitobaMinnedosa, Manitoba
Minnedosa is a town in the southwestern part of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Situated 50 kilometres north of Brandon, Manitoba on the Little Saskatchewan River, the name means "flowing water" in Sioux. The population of Minnedosa reported in the 2006 Statistics Canada Census was 2,474...
, the son of musicians who had emigrated from the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Asper attended the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is 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 1957 he received his law degree from the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is 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...
, 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 Party
Manitoba Liberal Party
The 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 1973
Manitoba general election, 1973
The 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
Wolseley (electoral district)
Wolseley is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1957, and has formally existed since the 1958 provincial election. The riding is located in the centre of the City of Winnipeg. It is named for Col...
by only four votes. He resigned as party leader and MLA in 1975, though he continued to support the Manitoba Liberal Party
Manitoba Liberal Party
The 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 empire
Empire
The 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
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
CKND-TV
CKND-TV
CKND-DT is a television station that broadcasts from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the Manitoba outlet for the Global Television Network.-History:...
in 1975. CanWest grew to encompass the Global Television Network
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
, the daily newspaper National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
and over 60 other Canadian newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s.
Asper was noted for his fierce loyalty to Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, refusing enticements to move east to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. The faculty of management at the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is 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...
renamed itself the Asper School of Business in 2000. He was also a noted philanthropist
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
, making major donations to the art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
s and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
; in 2001 he donated $5 million CAD
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
to the St. Boniface Hospital & Research Foundation
St. Boniface General Hospital (Winnipeg)
St. Boniface General Hospital is Manitoba's second-largest hospital, located in the St. Boniface neighbourhood of Winnipeg. It was founded by the Sisters of Charity of Montreal in 1871, and was the first hospital in Western Canada...
in Winnipeg. Asper became an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
in 1995.
He was a prominent member of Canada's Jewish community, and a vocal supporter for Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Asper was also a close friend of many of Canada's prominent political and business elite, including Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
and Paul Martin.
Controversially, Asper's newspaper chain fired journalist Russell Mills
Russell Mills
Russell Mills is a British artist who was born in Ripon, Yorkshire, UK in 1952. He paints, creates multimedia installations, designs stage sets and lighting and has produced record covers and book covers for Brian Eno, the Cocteau Twins,Michael Nyman, David Sylvian, Peter Gabriel, and Nine Inch...
when he wrote an article which was critical of Jean Chretien and demanded he resign.
External links
- Israel Harold (Izzy) Asper at The Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...
- CBC News: In Depth - Israel Asper