Stephen Owen
Encyclopedia
Stephen Owen, PC
(born September 8, 1948) is the Vice-President of External, Legal and Community Relations for the University of British Columbia
. He is a former Canadian
politician.
Owen was the Member of Parliament
for the electoral district of Vancouver Quadra
, encompassing the western end of the City of Vancouver. He was a member of Prime Minister
Paul Martin
's Liberal
government, serving in cabinet
as Canada's tenth Minister of Western Economic Diversification
and as Minister of State
for Sport
.
/University of London
in 1974. He received MBA from the International Management Institute, University of Geneva
in 1986, and J.D. from the University of British Columbia
in 1972.
During the 1980s, Owen worked for the government of British Columbia
as a non-partisan official. He served as that province's ombudsman
from 1986 to 1992, and as Commissioner for the ground-breaking Commission on Resources and Environment, which pioneered the province's multi-stakeholder land use planning approach from 1992 to 1995. Subsequently Owen was the Deputy Attorney General for B.C. and, then, the David Lam Professor of Law & Public Policy, and Director, Institute for Dispute Resolution, University of Victoria (1997–2000) He is also the past commissioner and vice-president of the Law Commission of Canada. His cousin, Philip Owen
, is a former mayor
of Vancouver
.
in the 2000 federal election
. He was appointed to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
's cabinet on January 15, 2002, serving as Secretary of State
for both Western Economic Diversification and Indian Affairs and Northern Development. On December 12, 2003, he was promoted by newly-appointed Martin to Minister of Public Works and Government Services
. In this capacity, he was a frequent target of opposition questions on the "sponsorship scandal
". During his tenure, Owen also managed the largest recovery of misappropriated public funds in Canadian history. Hewlett Packard paid C$146 million to the government of Canada, and both parties agreed to jointly pursue companies who may also have been involved.
Owen defeated former provincial cabinet minister Stephen Rogers
in the federal election of 2004
, winning by a much greater margin than most observers anticipated. He was named Minister of Western Economic Diversification and Minister of State
for Sport on July 20, 2004. Under normal circumstances, this would have been considered a demotion, but the shuffle placed Owen in a powerful managerial position for preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games
in British Columbia
.
During the federal election of 2006
, held to elect the 39th Parliament
, Owen managed to again defeat Rogers and maintain his seat in Vancouver Quadra. Following the election, Owen was one of the early supporters of Michael Ignatieff
for the Liberal Party Leadership, and is credited with moving other prominent British Columbians to support Ignatieff. Stephen Owen resigned his seat on July 27, 2007, to accept a position at the University of British Columbia
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(born September 8, 1948) is the Vice-President of External, Legal and Community Relations for the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
. He is a former Canadian
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...
politician.
Owen was the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the electoral district of Vancouver Quadra
Vancouver Quadra
Vancouver Quadra is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1949....
, encompassing the western end of the City of Vancouver. He was a member of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
's Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
government, serving in cabinet
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
as Canada's tenth Minister of Western Economic Diversification
Minister of Western Economic Diversification (Canada)
The Minister of Western Economic Diversification is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who also serves as the chief executive of Western Economic Diversification Canada...
and as Minister of State
Minister of state (Canada)
A Minister of State is a junior cabinet minister in the Canadian Cabinet, usually given specific responsibilities to assist a senior cabinet minister in a specific area....
for Sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
.
Early career
Owen received LL.M. from University College LondonUniversity College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
/University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1974. He received MBA from the International Management Institute, University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
in 1986, and J.D. from the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
in 1972.
During the 1980s, Owen worked for the government of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
as a non-partisan official. He served as that province's ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
from 1986 to 1992, and as Commissioner for the ground-breaking Commission on Resources and Environment, which pioneered the province's multi-stakeholder land use planning approach from 1992 to 1995. Subsequently Owen was the Deputy Attorney General for B.C. and, then, the David Lam Professor of Law & Public Policy, and Director, Institute for Dispute Resolution, University of Victoria (1997–2000) He is also the past commissioner and vice-president of the Law Commission of Canada. His cousin, Philip Owen
Philip Owen
Philip Walter Owen was the mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia from 1993 to 2002, making him one of Vancouver's longest serving mayors. His father was Walter S. Owen, who was Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia from 1973 to 1978....
, is a former mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.
Federal politics
Owen was first elected to the House of CommonsCanadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
in the 2000 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
. He was appointed to Prime Minister 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....
's cabinet on January 15, 2002, serving as Secretary of State
Secretary of State (Canada)
Secretary of State was a title given to some Ministers of State in the Government of Canada sitting outside Cabinet from 1993 to 2003 and again from 2007 to 2008. Secretaries of State were members of the ministry and the Queen's Privy Council for Canada...
for both Western Economic Diversification and Indian Affairs and Northern Development. On December 12, 2003, he was promoted by newly-appointed Martin to Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Minister of Public Works and Government Services (Canada)
The Minister of Public Works and Government Services is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's "common service organization" , an expansive department responsible for the internal servicing and administration of the federal...
. In this capacity, he was a frequent target of opposition questions on the "sponsorship scandal
Sponsorship scandal
The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...
". During his tenure, Owen also managed the largest recovery of misappropriated public funds in Canadian history. Hewlett Packard paid C$146 million to the government of Canada, and both parties agreed to jointly pursue companies who may also have been involved.
Owen defeated former provincial cabinet minister Stephen Rogers
Stephen Rogers (politician)
Stephen Rogers was a British Columbia politician and Cabinet minister from 1975 to 1991. Rogers ran for the leadership of the British Columbia Social Credit Party in the 1986 leadership race, but lost to Bill Vander Zalm....
in the federal election of 2004
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, winning by a much greater margin than most observers anticipated. He was named Minister of Western Economic Diversification and Minister of State
Minister of state (Canada)
A Minister of State is a junior cabinet minister in the Canadian Cabinet, usually given specific responsibilities to assist a senior cabinet minister in a specific area....
for Sport on July 20, 2004. Under normal circumstances, this would have been considered a demotion, but the shuffle placed Owen in a powerful managerial position for preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
During the federal election of 2006
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, held to elect the 39th Parliament
39th Canadian Parliament
The 39th Canadian Parliament was in session from April 3, 2006 until September 7, 2008. The membership was set by the 2006 federal election on January 23, 2006, and it has changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections...
, Owen managed to again defeat Rogers and maintain his seat in Vancouver Quadra. Following the election, Owen was one of the early supporters of Michael Ignatieff
Michael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
for the Liberal Party Leadership, and is credited with moving other prominent British Columbians to support Ignatieff. Stephen Owen resigned his seat on July 27, 2007, to accept a position at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...