Michael Grattan O'Leary (February 19, 1888–April 7, 1976) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

journalist, publisher and a member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

. He was born in Percé, in the

Gaspé, Quebec Gaspé () is a city at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of eastern Quebec in Canada. Gaspé is about northeast of Quebec City and east of Rimouski. Gaspé has a total population of 15,063, as of th ...

on February 19, 1888. He spent two years at sea before entering journalism with the St. John Standard. He began work at the ''

Ottawa Journal The ''Ottawa Journal'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1885 to 1980. It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the ''Ottawa Evening Journal''. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the ...

'' in 1911. He later became editor of the paper. He was a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery for more than 20 years. At various times, he was the

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

correspondent of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', a contributor to British, United States and Canadian magazines, and was Canadian Editor of Collier's. He has attended imperial and international conferences in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, and was at the Potsdam Conference in 1945. He took a very an active interest in public affairs. He ran as a Conservative Party candidate in the federal riding of Gaspé in the general election of 1925 but was defeated. He was a confidant of a number of prime ministers, including

Arthur Meighen Arthur Meighen ( ; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921 and from June to September 1926. He led the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1926 and ...

and

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

. He chaired the Royal Commission on Publications. O'Leary was appointed by Diefenbaker to the Senate in 1962. He also served as the rector of Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

in 1968 but was forced to resign under student pressure. He died in Ottawa on April 7, 1976.

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* * * * 1888 births 1976 deaths Canadian senators from Ontario Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Journalists from Ontario Journalists from Quebec Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators Quebec people of Irish descent 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada {{Canada-journalist-stub

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