Mitchell William Sharp (May 11, 1911 – March 19, 2004) was a Canadian politician and a Companion of the Order of Canada, most noted for his service as a Liberal

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

minister. He did, however, serve in both private and public sectors during his long career.

Background

Sharp was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba in 1934 and completed post-graduate work at that university and then at the London School of Economics. During this time, he worked as a writer focusing on the

grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...

. Sharp started his long career in public service in 1947 when he was offered the job as the director of the Department of Finance's Economic Policy Division. 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.

Politics

In 1963, Mitchell Sharp was elected as a member of Parliament (MP) representing Eglinton. Shortly thereafter, he was assigned the portfolio of

Minister of Trade and Commerce Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

. From 1965 through 1968, Sharp was the Minister of Finance. Other ministerial positions held include Secretary of State for External Affairs (1968–1974), President of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

(1974–1978) and

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons The leader of the government in the House of Commons (), more commonly known as the government house leader, is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Commons of Canada. ...

(1974–1978). Sharp resigned as a parliamentarian in 1978. Sharp also disliked Canada's constitutional structure, revealing in his 1994 memoirs that because of his negative views on the monarchy, he refused to accept Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

's offer to recommend him for appointment as governor general. 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." Sharp's support was influential in securing a prominent position for the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 67 during the Canadian Centennial, which had initially been proposed to be much smaller, limited to a single acre.

After politics

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 on

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

and published a report on ethical conduct in the public service in 1984. Other posts included head of the ''Canadian group'' and deputy chairman of the Trilateral Commission (1976–1986). From 1988 through 1993, he served as a policy associate with Strategion. He was a personal adviser to Prime Minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

from 1993 to 2003, a job for which he was paid $1 a year. On February 22, 2004, Sharp fell and broke his collarbone in his

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

. He was taken to Elizabeth Bruyere Health Centre (hospital), in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, where he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

; that disease claimed his life on March 19 of that year. He was 92. He is buried in Ottawa.

Honours

Mitchell Sharp was sworn in as a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on 22 April 1963, giving him the honorific prefix The Honourable and the

post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

"PC" for life.