Background
Eric William Kierans was born on February 2, 1914, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was a son of Hugh Kierans, a supervisor at the Canadian Car and Foundry, and Lena Kierans, maiden name Schmidt.
1963
Waiting at Malton, New Democratic Party leader Tommy Douglas (right), talks with Eric Kierans, Montreal Stock Exchange president, who was going to Winnipeg.
1967
Eric Kierans, businessman, economist, educator, politician, and author.
1968
Eric Kierans, businessman, economist, educator, politician, and author.
1968
Eric Kierans, a candidate for the Liberal leadership, steps from the Star voting machine set up at York-Scarborough Liberal Association's conference. Waiting to vote (right) is Robert Stanbury.
1969
Postmaster-General Eric Kierans shakes hands with postal workers in the main terminal on Front St. yesterday. Postal workers have complained about poor working conditions at the terminal.
1971
Chairman Ed Goodman shares the platform with former Liberal cabinet minister Eric Kierans (left) and NDP financial critic Max Saltsman (right) at last weekend's conference of Committee for an Independent Canada.
1974
Eric Kierans, businessman, economist, educator, politician, and author.
In 1995, Eric Kierans was honored with the Officer of the Order of Canada.
845 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
Eric Kierans went through a graduate study at McGill University.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Eric Kierans earned a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola College.
Eric Kierance was a council member of the Nova Barristers' Society.
Businessman economist educator politician author
Eric William Kierans was born on February 2, 1914, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was a son of Hugh Kierans, a supervisor at the Canadian Car and Foundry, and Lena Kierans, maiden name Schmidt.
Eric Kierans earned a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola College in 1935. In 1947-1951, he went through a graduate study at McGill University. He was honored with a Doctor of Laws degree by St. Thomas University in 1979, McGill University in 1981, McMaster University, Concordia College in 1987, and Dalhousie University in 1991. Kierans was honored a Doctor of Civil Law degree by Bishops University in 1983 and Kings College.
After the university, Eric Kierans was hired as a flour salesman by Ogilvie Flour Mills and was sent to Moncton. As a single man, he was willing to work long days, seven days a week, and was soon the company's top salesman in the area. He was promoted to Ogilvie's Halifax office but when a requested raise was refused, he quit and in 1941 was back in Montreal. In 1942-1946, he served at the Victoria Rifles of Canada and became a lieutenant.
The opportunity came in the form of the Bulldog Grip Cement Co., a linoleum and tile cement company, that was deeply in debt to the Royal Bank. With a loan from the Royal Bank and a few silent partners, he put it back on its feet, paid back the loan, bought out his partners, and was able to pay himself a modest salary. He remained in business and in 1952 paid less than $25,000 for Hygiene Products Ltd. Eight years later, he sold it for more than 10 times that amount and joined the ranks of Canadian millionaires.
Eric Kierans was a professor of communication and finance and director of the School of Communications at McGill University in 1953-1960, a president of the Montreal Stock Exchange in 1960-1963. In 1963, Eric Kierans began his political career by winning election to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, where he subsequently distinguished himself as an outspoken critic of conservative economics. In Jean Lesage's Quiet Revolution, he served as minister of revenue in 1963-1965 and as minister of health in 1965-1966. The Lesage government was defeated in 1966 but Kierans emerged in 1968 to run against Pierre Trudeau for the leadership of the federal party. He fared poorly at the April convention, collecting only 103 of a possible 2,390 votes on the first ballot, and withdrew. In 1968, he gained election to the Canadian House of Commons, and he was eventually appointed to the cabinet of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He was a postmaster general of Canada in 1968-1969 and a minister of communications in 1969-1971. Kierans remained a fixture in Canadian politics until 1972. In 1972, he was a consultant to the Manitoba Government.
After leaving politics, Kierans returned to McGill University as a professor of economics and taught here in 1972-1980. In 1978-1980, Kierans was a director of Sidbec-Dosco Ltée, and in 1979-1980 - of Caisse de Dépôt. In 1980, he was a chairman of Canadian Adhesives Ltd., in 1982 - a president of Kara Investments Ltd. Kierans worked as a director of Lester Pearson Institute for International Development, and Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation. Then in 1983-1984, he was a professor of economics at Dalhousie University. In 1984, he was a Dal Grauer Memorial Lecturer at the University of British Columbia, in 1985 - David Alexander Memorial Lecturer at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. In 1985-1990, he was a visiting lecturer and a fellow-in-residence at the Institute for Research on Public Policy.
In 1983-1994, Eric Kierans was a commentator on CBC's Morningside, where he maintained his reputation for providing slightly idiosyncratic views, in a regular political panel with Stephen Lewis and Dalton Camp. He once advocated making Winnipeg the capital of Canada, hoping that it would give the country a fresh start.
His 1988 book, Wrong End of the Rainbow: The Collapse of Free Enterprise in Canada, which he wrote with investigative journalist Walter Stewart, revealed a total disenchantment with what they called the casino society where many of the finest minds specialize in money rather than the production of anything useful. He was also the author, with Walter Stewart, of a memoir, Remembering, which Pamela Wallin proclaimed in Globe Books as "a fascinating story."
In 1968-1972, Eric Kierance was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. He achieved political prominence, in part because he stirred up controversy outside the government. Examples include his attack on Walter Gordon's 1963 budget; his 1967 challenge to René Lévesque to abandon separatism or quit the Québec Liberal Party; his candidacy for the national Liberal leadership in 1968; and his sustained criticism of Trudeau's economic policies. Although he was often labeled an "economic nationalist," his views were rooted more in his belief in the primacy of politics over economics, his distrust of economic, political, and intellectual "monopoly," his insistence that Canada's natural resources belong to the public and his conviction that things do not improve unless somebody speaks out.
Canada, Kierans said, had to stop selling its resources at bargain-basement prices if it wanted to keep its independence and its wealth. This, more than anything else, provided the impetus for his political career and continued to be his concern long after he had left elected office. It was his concern for the have-nots in Quebec which prompted him to campaign against the policies of Créditiste leader Réal Caouette in the 1963 federal election. Like the rest of the Montreal financial establishment, Mr. Kierans thought that the Social Credit policies were nonsense, but, unlike his colleagues, he refused to suffer in silence. He had taught himself French while he was president of the exchange, and, although it was well short of perfect, he decided to make a series of speeches in the impoverished rural areas of Quebec, against the Créditistes. Caouette, who was hoping to increase his 28-seat hold in the province, was furious and countered by labeling Kierans "the shark of high finance." But after the votes were counted, Créditiste representation in Quebec had been cut to 20 seats.
Eric Kierans married Teresa Catherine Whelan on November 12, 1938. They had two children: Thomas Edward and Catherine Anne.