Paul Hellyer
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Paul Theodore Hellyer (August 6, 1923 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian engineer, politician, writer, and commentator. He was the longest serving member of the
Queen's Privy Council for Canada The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...
at the time of his death.


Early life

Hellyer was born and raised on a farm near
Waterford, Ontario Waterford is one of the Communities in Norfolk County, Ontario and had a population of 3,132 at the time of the 2016 Census. Antiques from different historical eras can be purchased from downtown antique stores. Norfolk FS (formerly known as the ...
, the son of Lulla Maude (Anderson) and Audrey Samuel Hellyer. Upon completion of high school, he studied
aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...
at the Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute of Aeronautics in
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, graduating in 1941. While studying, he also obtained a private pilot's licence. After graduation, Hellyer was employed at
Fleet Aircraft Fleet Aircraft was a Canadian manufacturer of aircraft from 1928 to 1957. In 1928, the board of Consolidated Aircraft decided to drop their light trainer aircraft and sold the rights to Brewster Aircraft. Reuben H. Fleet founded Fleet Aircraft i ...
in
Fort Erie, Ontario Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812. Fort Erie is one of N ...
, which was then making training craft for the
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
as part of Canada's war effort in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He attempted to become an RCAF pilot himself, but was told no more pilots were necessary, after which he joined the
Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/The ...
and served in Canada as a gunner for the duration of the war. Hellyer earned a Bachelor of Arts from the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
in 1949.


Early political career

First elected as a
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
in 1949 federal election in the riding of Davenport, he was the youngest person ever elected to that point in the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...
. He served a brief stint as
Parliamentary Assistant In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the U ...
to the Minister of National Defence. He was then named
Associate Minister of National Defence The associate minister of national defence () is a member of the Canadian cabinet who is responsible for various files within the defence department as assigned by the prime minister or defence minister. The position was created in 1940 during ...
in the
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 ...
of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent. This post was short-lived, though, as Hellyer lost his seat when the St. Laurent government lost the 1957 election two months later. Hellyer returned to parliament in a 1958 by-election in the neighbouring riding of
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, and became an opposition critic of John Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservative government.


Cabinet minister and Liberal leadership candidate

When the Liberals returned to power in the 1963 election, Hellyer became Minister of National Defence in the
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 ...
of
Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...
. This was the most significant period in Hellyer's political career. As Minister of Defence, he oversaw the drastic and controversial integration and unification of the
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...
,
Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
, and the
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
into a single organization, the
Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...
. Hellyer contested the 1968 Liberal leadership election, placing second on the first ballot, but slipped to third on the second and third ballots, and withdrew to support
Robert Winters Robert Henry Winters, (August 18, 1910 – October 10, 1969) was a Canadian politician, businessman, and businessman. Life and career Born in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, the son of a fishing captain, Winters went to Mount Allison University in Ne ...
on the fourth ballot, in which
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 ...
won the leadership. He served as Trudeau's Transport Minister.


Politics 1969–1988

In 1969, Hellyer issued a major report on housing and urban renewal in which he advocated incremental reforms rather than new government programs. He called for greater flexibility in Canada's mortgage loan system, and encouraged corporate pension funds to invest more money in housing programs.''Winnipeg Free Press'', January 25, 1969, p. 11. His approach did not meet with universal acceptance. Some provincial and municipal governments were openly skeptical, and
Heward Grafftey William Heward Grafftey, (August 5, 1928 – February 11, 2010) was a Canadian politician and businessman. Early life Born in Montreal, Quebec, to a wealthy family, he was a nephew of artist Prudence Heward of the Beaver Hall Group, and wrot ...
, a left-leaning Progressive Conservative with an interest in housing, called for a more radical approach. Hellyer's report also called for the suspension of the "wholesale destruction of older housing" and for "greater selectivity... in the demolition of existing houses". Grand urban renewal projects would come to an end as a result of his Task Force. Hellyer resigned from the cabinet in 1969 over a dispute with Trudeau over the implementation of the housing program. Hellyer sat in Parliament as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
beginning in 1971. After his 1971 attempt to form a new political party, Action Canada, failed, Progressive Conservative leader
Robert Stanfield Robert Lorne Stanfield (April 11, 1914 – December 16, 2003) was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative ...
invited him to join the PC
caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
. He returned to prominence as an opposition critic and was re-elected in the 1972 election as a Progressive Conservative. He lost his seat, however, in the 1974 election. Despite this loss, Hellyer contested the PC leadership election of 1976. His views were too right wing for most delegates, and alienated many
Tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
with a speech attacking
Red Tories A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, most predominantly in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. This philosophy tends to favour ...
as not being "true conservatives". He finished a distant sixth of eight contestants on the second ballot;
Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...
won the leadership. Hellyer rejoined the Liberal Party in 1982, but remained mostly silent in politics. In 1988, he contested the Liberal nomination in the
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
riding of St. Paul's, losing to Aideen Nicholson, who had defeated Hellyer 14 years previously when he was a Tory MP in the adjacent riding of Trinity. Under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, he also served as Canada's only
Senior Minister Senior Minister is a political title. It may refer to: * Senior Minister of Canada, a political office in the Cabinet of Canada **Senior Minister, a ceremonial position before the title Deputy Prime Minister was introduced in 1977 * Senior Minister ...
from April 1968 until 1969, when he resigned from the post.Ottawa Citizen, "A Heartbeat From The Top", Charles Lynch, November 10, 1982, pp.3


Canadian Action Party

In 1997, Hellyer formed the
Canadian Action Party The Canadian Action Party (CAP) (french: Parti action canadienne, PAC) was a Canadian Canadian confederation, federal political party founded in 1997 and deregistered on 31 March 2017. The party stood for Canadian nationalism, monetary reform, mo ...
(CAP) to provide voters with an economic nationalist option following the collapse of the
National Party of Canada The National Party of Canada was a short-lived Canadian political party that contested the 1993 federal election. The party is not related to the earlier National Party that was founded in 1979. Formation Founded and led by Edmonton, Albert ...
. Hellyer believed that both the Progressive Conservative and Liberal parties were embracing
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, and that the
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...
was no longer able to provide a credible alternative. CAP also embraced Hellyer's proposals for monetary reform: that the government should become more involved in the direction of the economy by gradually reducing the creation of private money and increasing the creation of public money from the current ratio of 5% public / 95% private back to 50% public and 50% private. His party remained a little-noticed
minor party A minor party is a political party that plays a smaller (in some cases much smaller, even insignificant in comparison) role than a major party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so great ...
, and Hellyer lost bids for a seat in the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...
in the
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and
2000 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2000. Africa * 2000 Ethiopian general election * 2000 Ghanaian presidential election * 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election * 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election * 2000 Ivorian presiden ...
. Following the 2000 election, and a resurgence for the New Democratic Party, Hellyer approached NDP leadership to discuss the possibility of merging the two parties into 'One Big Party'. This process was furthered by the passage of a unanimous motion at the CAP's convention in 2003. In early 2004, after several extensions of the merger deadline, the NDP rejected Hellyer's merger proposal which would have required the NDP to change its name. Hellyer resigned as CAP leader, but remained a member of the party. Rumours that he might run for the NDP in the 2004 election proved to be unfounded.


Extraterrestrial intelligence claims

On June 3, 1967, Hellyer inaugurated an
unidentified flying object An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
landing pad in St. Paul, Alberta. The town had built it as its
Canadian Centennial The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1, 1967. Commemorative coins w ...
celebration project, and as a symbol of keeping space free from human warfare. In early September 2005, Hellyer made headlines by publicly announcing that he believed in the existence of
UFOs An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
. On September 25, 2005, he was an invited speaker at an
exopolitics The politics of outer space includes space treaties, space law, law in space, international cooperation and conflict in space exploration, international economics and the hypothetical political impact of any contact with extraterrestrial intellige ...
conference in Toronto, where he told the audience that he had seen a UFO one night with his late wife and some friends. In 2007, the ''
Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...
'' reported that Hellyer was demanding that world governments disclose alien technology that could be used to solve the problem of
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. In an interview with RT (formerly Russia Today) in 2014, Hellyer said that at least four species of aliens have been visiting Earth for thousands of years, with most of them coming from other star systems, although there are some living on Venus, Mars and Saturn’s moon.


Personal life

Hellyer was one of the earliest investors in the ''
Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...
'' in 1971. He also served as a syndicated columnist for the newspaper between 1974 and 1984. Hellyer died of complications from a fall at a hospital in Toronto on August 8, 2021, two days after his 98th birthday. Hellyer resided in Toronto. He has three children and five grandchildren.


Books

Hellyer has written several books on Canada and
globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
, including '' One Big Party: To Keep Canada Independent'', in which he promoted the merger of the CAP, NDP, and various left-wing activists to save Canada from the effects of
globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
, as well as possible annexation by the United States. *''Agenda, a Plan for Action'' (1971) *''Exit Inflation'' (1981) *''Jobs for All: Capitalism on Trial'' (1984) *''Damn the Torpedoes'' (1990) *''Funny Money: A common sense alternative to mainline economics'' (1994) *''Surviving the Global Financial Crisis: The Economics of Hope for Generation X'' (1996) *''Evil Empire : Globalization's Darker Side'' (1997) *''Stop: Think'' (1999) *''Goodbye Canada'' (2001) *''One Big Party: To Keep Canada Independent'' (2003) *''A Miracle in Waiting'' (2010), update of ''Surviving the Global Financial Crisis'' *''Light at the End of the Tunnel: A Survival Plan for the Human Species'' (2010) *''The Money Mafia: A World in Crisis'' (2014) *''Hope Restored: An Autobiography by Paul Hellyer: My Life and Views on Canada, the U.S., the World & the Universe'' (2018) *''Liberation! The Economics of Hope'' (2020)


Electoral record

''Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election.''


Archives

There is
Paul Hellyer fonds
at
Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...
.


See also

*
Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform The Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform (COMER) is an economics-oriented publishing and education centre based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Organization COMER was co-founded by William Krehm and John Hotson in the 1980s as a think tank out ...
*
Disclosure (ufology) UFO conspiracy theories are a subset of conspiracy theories which argue that various governments and politicians globally, in particular the Government of the United States, are suppressing evidence that unidentified flying objects are controll ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hellyer, Paul 1923 births 2021 deaths Defence ministers of Canada Canadian Ministers of Transport Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian columnists Canadian nationalists Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidates Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Members of the United Church of Canada Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidates Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian military personnel from Ontario People from Norfolk County, Ontario Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery personnel University of Toronto alumni Ufologists