Education
Simon Fraser University.
Simon Fraser University.
His most recent position was as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Public Policy Forum, an Ottawa-based non-governmental organization dedicated to improving the quality of government in Canada through enhanced dialogue among the public, private and voluntary sectors. Mitchell abruptly left his position as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Public Policy Forum on August 20, 2015. Mitchell holds a Master"s degree in Canadian and American history from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.
He served as Editor and Archivist at the British Columbia Provincial Archives.
He is a self-confessed "political junkie", who is a frequent commentator on Canadian politics and public life on radio and television He has authored a number of books about politics and history in British Columbia:
West.A.C. Bennett and the rise of British Columbia, Vancouver 1983, Douglas & McIntyre, ().
A biography of West. A. C. Bennett. Succession: the political reshaping of British Columbia, 1986 ().
A synopsis of the Social Cr administrations since West.A.C. Bennett.
All aboard!: the Canadian Rockies by train, 1995 ()
The Hongkong Bank of Canada Story – Origin & Early Years, 1996
British Columbia"s business leaders of the century, 1999 (editor)
Mitchell has also worked as an executive in the forestry industry and in resource industries in western Canada (1984–1990). He gained experience in parliamentary procedure and legislative processes as Deputy Clerk of the Saskatchewan Legislature (1981-1984). He was elected in 1991 to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, for the Liberal Party, in the riding of West Vancouver-Garibaldi.
He sat the remainder of his term, until 1996, as an "Independent".
During his term, he was a watchdog on a broad range of issues including resource management, labour relations, advanced education, and parliamentary reform. He served as Vice-President of External Relations at Simon Fraser University from 1997 to 2002, where he was responsible for fundraising, alumni relations, media and public relations, and government affairs
Simon Fraser University raised over $65 million under his direction and significantly expanded its campus in downtown Vancouver. He became Vice-President of University Relations at the University of Ottawa in September 2002.
He led the university through a major re-branding initiative, and helped launch the largest fundraising campaign in the university"s history, which exceeded its $200 million objective a year ahead of schedule.
While in Ottawa, he served on the board of directors of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. In September 2007, he moved to Queen"s University, assuming the post of Vice-Principal (Advancement). In January 2009, he returned to Ottawa to take a new position as president and Chief Executive Officer of the Public Policy Forum, an independent, non-partisan non-governmental organization that specializes in convening Canadian leaders on issues of public service and governance.
Mitchell serves on the board of the Parliamentary Centre, on the advisory committee of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Queen"s University and is Governor and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
He was the party"s House Leader, but resigned his position as a result of a rift over the Charlottetown constitutional accord.
