The Tyee is an independent online Canadian magazine that focuses coverage on news and media of British Columbia. It was founded in November 2003 by its editor-in-chief, David Beers, an award-winning writer and former features editor at the Vancouver Sun. Since its launch it has recruited a number of other writers, including Steve Burgess, Murray Dobbin, Michael Geist, Terry Glavin, Mark Leiren-Young, Rafe Mair, Will McMartin, Shannon Rupp, Vanessa Richmond and Dorothy Woodend.

The name is based on the current local definition of tyee salmon - a Chinook or Spring salmon of 30 lbs or more. However, a century ago, the named carried more meaning, i.e. a chief, a king, anything of superior order. It also embodies the magazine’s dedication to publishing lively, informative news and views, to “roam free, and go where we wish” as the tyee salmon do.^[1]

Original articles are published each day, focusing on politics, culture and life. It has also expanded its activities to a blog - The Hook. Within two years of its launch, over 1,000 articles have been published, with a vibrant community of more than 1,500 registered commenters, as well as reaching 89,458 unique visitors.^[2] In 2009, according to BCBusiness magazine, The Tyee has a notably growing B.C. readership, up 77 percent since 2007 to approximately 175,000 unique visitors a month.^[3]

In 2007, The Tyee was recognized nationally as an Honourable Mention in the category of Excellence in Journalism for Small, Medium, or Local Media.^[4] The category includes all Canadian online journalism with less than 500,000 unique visitors a month. In 2009, the BCBusiness magazine also placed The Tyee as ninth of their list of the province’s tope ten most innovative companies.^[3] The Tyee was awarded the Edward R. Murrow Award by the Radio and Television News Directors Association twice within three years, in 2009 and 2011.^[5] It was the only Canadian news organization to be honoured for the national (North America-wide) category in 2011. It was also runner up for the 2011 Canadian Journalism Foundation Excellence in Journalism Award.

Background[link]

In 2001, David Beers was fired from the features editor position at the Vancouver Sun as part of CanWest Global’s famous purge of top-level journalists. Beers says, “When I was fired it was kind of a wake-up call, I was writing some forthright things after 9/11—they weren’t radical, I didn’t think, but they challenged the jingoistic tone of many commentators and politicians in Canada as well as the US.”^[2] Beers has openly expressed his opinion that CanWest had abused its position and failed to provide fair and balanced coverage. Afterwards, Beers contemplated exploring online journalism, and was encouraged by an anonymous philanthropist who had a similar goal, and finances to support the plan. The US website Salon.com became the model.

Online Magazine Model[link]

According to the Radio and Television News Directors Association, who awards the Edward R. Murrow award, The Tyee is admirable for their independence and creative commitment to a local focus, the regional focus on British Columbia, while maintaining a fair amount of coverage extending to Canada and beyond.^[3] The Tyee is fairly exclusive in this style in Canada, as there are not many other online magazines that have the same focus.

For examples, Andrew MacLeod, their full time B.C. legislative reporter, regularly publishes original in-depth series on critical issues. Their reporter Geoff Dembicki went to Washington, and wrote a 15-part series on oil sands lobbying there. The Tyee also published a 17-part series on strengthening local food economies in Ontario and B.C. reported by Colleen Kimmett, Jeff Nield and Justin Langille. The Tyee picks key areas for in depth investigative or solutions-focused reporting.^[3]

The advantage of online magazines are that they are immediately accessible; it’s publishing schedule minute-to-minute. According to David Beers, this allows for "coopetition," the accumulating and sharing of others’ content to create media that correlates with the community’s interests. It's tied into the power of social media, and, employed well, can be productively interactive.^[3]

Being an online magazine, there are less chances to introduce the production crew, such as having an editor’s letter in every issue. The Tyee has set a goal to "open up" in order for their readers to gain a better understanding of who they are, and what they are about. In result, it may give the community more opportunities to contribute to The Tyee’s daily content. The Tyee is planning to hold more public events in their attempt to be less virtual, and more present in the physical world. David Beers explains that, "after eight years, it's time we came out from behind our screens and started shaking hands with the thousands of people who visit The Tyee and make us a vibrant community."^[3]

Blog[link]

In 2008, The Tyee launched a new blog called The Hook. According to investigative editor and overseer, Monte Paulsen, The Hook is a “superblog,” because The Hook publishes quick, frequent, timely reports and analysis by experienced Tyee journalists and a wide network of contributors, unlike most blogs that offer works of one or two journalists. Posts are approximately 200-300 words in length, allowing coverage of a greater number and variety of topics that have not been touched upon before. As a business initiative, the blog offers more space for advertising, since online “retail space” is a challenge for online publishers, unlike print magazines that can simply add advertising-only pages. The blog enables marketers additional opportunities.

Interactive and Multimedia Content[link]

Unlike many online magazines, The Tyee has very minimal interactive and multi-media content, and is largely based on written story. According to Beers, it is not that The Tyee does not wish to have such features, but are rather limited in people and in-house resources.^[3] Rather than spreading themselves out thin, The Tyee focuses on their goal of publishing journalism that cannot be ignored by influentials and decision-makers by putting all their attention on the text.

In terms of visual content, The Tyee runs a lot of photography, and have had immensely positive results with "crowd sourced photography." The Tyee flickr pool draws thousands of images, and a new one is featured every day on the site. These images are often run in the stories, and on photo essays by the readers. For example, on Labour Day, The Tyee ran 20 images of people at work taken by The Tyee readers. This approach resulted in a main feature, called "The People’s Podium," on The Tyee everyday during the Olympics.^[3] It included approximately a dozen photos taken by readers that were funny, poignant, ironic - images that are supposedly very different from the spectacle-enhancing photos other media were producing. In the fall, The Tyee plans to take this idea forward into video. It will be launching a multi-media window that features videos, and photo slide shows provided or recommended by their readers.

Funding[link]

In 2010, according to Beers, The Tyee’s annual revenue of about $500,000 to $600,000 includes $450,000 from ongoing sale of equity, $75,000 from advertising, $50,000 from grants, $25,000 from reader donations, and several thousand from renting out newsroom desks.^[6]

1. Topical pledge drives:

The Tyee prepares a multiple-choice list of popular topics, and any money donated toward each one would be guaranteed to go to funding that topic. Beers calls this “crowdsourcing the editorial board.”^[6] Just as major donors and foundations influence their grants, small donors can also enjoy the same privilege. For example, Beers provided donors a choice of which issues The Tyee should be covering during Canada’s 2009 elections, the pledge brought in $25,000 in 10 days.^[6]

2. Interest-group ownership:

More than half of The Tyee’s money comes from unions, specifically, Working Enterprises, a family of companies affiliated with the British Columbia Federation of Labor that also includes insurance, travel and financial services firms that cater to Canadian union members. In exchange for an annual subsidy of $300,000, Working Enterprises owns two-thirds of The Tyee’s theoretically for-profit operation. Investor Eric Peterson owns the other third, for annual payments of $150,000.^[6]

3. Renting out desks in the newsroom:

The Tyee’s office above Vancouver’s Chinatown is a little bigger than necessary, so they have made three desks available for rental at $250 a month each, wireless Internet, kitchen, and utilities are included.^[6] The tenants are, essentially, co-working in a newsroom. Beers sees potential for selling access to newsroom synergies, “journalists can be pretty valuable to some people — there’s a certain rigor and skepticism about what we do.”^[6] One of The Tyee’s desk tenants, Mitchell Anderson, the general manage of a local beachcombers’ co-op and an occasional freelance writer, explains that “the rent is relatively cheap and it’s a nice location, but the main thing I get out of that is a peer group, I really enjoy chatting with bright people about interesting things.”^[6]

Fellowship Fund[link]

The Tyee Fellowship Funds are charitable funds separate from The Tyee. The funds are held at and managed by the national public foundation, Tides Canada Foundation.^[7] An independent advisory board, apart from Tides Canada and The Tyee, reviews all the applications, and chooses four selections. Tides Canada then disburses fellowship grants from the two funds. Fellowship winners each receive $5,000 to produce a series of three or more articles, running at least 1,000 words. Tides Canada owns the reports, and publishing rights that result from the fellows' research, which, as required by Canadian charity law, are intended for broad public education; therefore, the widest possible public dissemination.^[7]

The Tyee has first publication rights to these reports, and then, on Tides Canada's behalf, responds to requests for republication by others.^[7] The author owns the ideas and data gathered during the research and writing of the reports. After the terms of the fellowship grant have been fulfilled, and the resulting reports have been published, the author is free to produce new and different content (articles, books, films, etc.) from that research, and to sell that content to whomever he or she wishes and keep all rights and proceeds.

The Tyee Investigative Fellowship funds investigative research and reporting focused on British Columbia, while The Tyee Solutions Fellowship funds research and reporting on promising attempts at solving problems facing B.C.^[7] This may include an emerging body of knowledge, small scale experiments or broader initiatives with evident, positive results, and may include reporting outside the province if the findings are applicable here. Although reporting must relate directly to B.C., the subject matter is not restricted; example topics include education, the environment, human rights, economics, worker safety, health, addiction, gender and sexuality, poverty, government, consumer ethics, etc.

Tyee Solutions Society (TSS)[link]

The Tyee Solutions Society (TSS) is non-charitable, non-profit, and exists to fund groups of journalists focused on particular subjects: food security, education, youth well being, etc. Directed by Michelle Hoar, with Fen Hsiao on staff, the TSS is separate from The Tyee, though it is guaranteed an outlet on The Tyee.^[3] The journalism it produces is intended to be shared with other media outlets as well, creating PDFs, books, public events, and any other means to engage the public's attention. The TSS has had good luck attracting foundation support for such journalism projects, including series on affordable housing, food security, green building, and, soon to be released in partnership with the CBC, aboriginal education.^[3] The TSS model allows employment of journalists who remain focused on one field, rather than having a limited amount of freelance money, and paying small amounts to whoever that wants to write. The foundation support for TSS allows journalists to have a regular pay cheque and develop their expertise.

Long Form Journalism[link]

David Beers explains that long-form journalism works online for The Tyee when it is definitive.^[3] A number of The Tyee’s articles are long form, because coverage of the entire story, the narrative structure, requires it to be. Each day four features are published that almost always goes beyond a thousand words, often 1,500 words. A 4,000 words piece may be broken into three or four parts, and are consequently published over the course of two or three days.^[3]

The Tyee strives to make long form journalism digestible on the readers’ own terms through a series function. Each story has a yellow button that directs the reader to a page where the entire series it’s part of is compiled. This allows the series to be spread around as one url.^[3] Moreover, The Tyee’s stories are peppered with hyperlinks to enable their readers to explore deeper or other pieces.

The rise of social media is rather supportive to long-form journalism. In assuming that the audience for a long story is either people who wishes for the definitive piece, or people whose tastes spark their desire to immerse in a creatively structured piece of storytelling, then the audience is most likely dispersed yet potentially very passionate about this article. Social media, trusted recommendations through Facebook, Twitter and others, allows people find their desired piece of long form journalism.^[3]

The Tyee's Twitter feed has about 12,000 followers, a positive indication that their long pieces are not discouraging those people, it may even be a sign that these followers are long-form journalism appreciators.^[3]

Media Democracy[link]

Beers expresses, “Vancouver is a heartbreaking place to be a dedicated news reporter, news editor, or news reader, because a single company owns the big papers, the big TV news station, and so many other media properties. There is simply not enough competition to keep that owner honest. By honest I mean dedicated to informing readers, rather than pandering to advertisers or to political allies.” ^[8] Beers is alarmed for Canada’s journalistic direction and future, B.C. is a sign of the current trends, including consolidation of titles, cross-ownership of mediums, and convergence and homogenization of content. The Tyee is a hopeful experiment for change. Its modest success perhaps indicates that many people are searching for an alternative to what Canwest offers.^[8] Competition, for readers rather than advertisers, is the key to change in Canadian journalism. Publications healthy for democratic conversation are circulation driven.

Beers’ Proposals for Change:

1) Order the CRTC to not approve television broadcast licenses for companies that own daily newspapers in the same market.^[8]

2) Create legislation to break up concentration of media ownership where it is already too high. No one should be able to own all the major newspapers in a major market, such is Canwest’s case.^[8]

3) Prevent future deals that overly concentrate ownership.^[8]

4) Require owners to reveal profit margins for regional operations. The people who pay for subscriptions and advertisements should know if their investments in the local media scene are being directed away to Winnipeg, or being reinvested in local quality.^[8]

5) Foster media owned and operated by membership based societies. This member "co-op" model allows citizens take the lead in creating and supporting and democratically participating in decisions about their media. But because real journalism is expensive, government could provide money to membership-based media that garners a critical mass of support.^[8]

6) Provide tax write-offs to those who join media membership based societies.^[8]

7) Create tax incentives for media philanthropy. Some of North America's best publications exist because someone with wealth and ideals insures that they do. They would not come close to surviving on subscription and advertising fees alone.^[8]

8) Find ways to help alternative media do "convergence." The way for any smaller enterprise to build awareness is to cross mediums: an Internet news site contributing to a radio program, for example, or a magazine team helping to produce television documentaries.^[8]

9) Develop a community-based web portal to provide alternative perspectives. The portal could be managed by public libraries, provide CBC news and information to attract a critical mass of viewers, plus access to dozens of alternative news and information sources such as The Tyee, Vancouver Community Network, Working TV, Indymedia, and as many others as want to join in.^[8]

Criticism[link]

There has been accusations of The Tyee having a left-wing bias due to its ties to big labour. In response, Beers says “I’m grateful the union movement has invested in media diversity. That’s all they are though: one of our investors. I have total guaranteed autonomy as Tyee editor, which certainly wasn’t the case, say, when I was an editor at CanWest.”^[2]

References[link]

1. ^ Beers, David. "About The Tyee". The Tyee. http://thetyee.ca/About/Intro/. Retrieved 20 October 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Wright, Mason. "Yippee Tyee". This Magazine. http://www.thismagazine.ca/issues/2005/11/yippeetyee.php. Retrieved 20 October 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Ray, Regan. "Tyee named one of B.C.'s most innovative companies". J-News. The Canadian Journalism Project. http://j-source.ca/article/tyee-named-one-bcs-most-innovative-companies. Retrieved 20 October 2011. 
4. ^ "Tyee Receives National Honour". The Tyee. http://thetyee.ca/Tyeenews/2007/06/11/TyeeHonour/. Retrieved 20 October 2011. 
5. ^ "Prof David Beers’ The Tyee wins prestigious Murrow Award". UBC Graduate School of Journalism. http://www.journalism.ubc.ca/news/item/school_of_journalism_professor_david_beers_website_the_tyee_wins_prestigiou. Retrieved 20 October 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Andersen, Michael. "Cash from every corner: Three kooky ways Vancouver’s Tyee pays for top-shelf regional journalism". Nieman Journalism Lab. http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/06/cash-from-every-corner-three-kooky-ways-vancouvers-tyee-pays-for-top-shelf-regional-journalism/. Retrieved 20 October 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d} "How to Apply for a Tyee Fellowship". The Tyee. http://thetyee.ca/About/FellowshipApplication/. Retrieved 20 October 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Beers, David. "Creating Counterweights to Big Media". The Tyee. http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2005/02/02/CreatingCounterweightsBigMedia/. Retrieved 20 October 2011. 

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2010)

Native Brazilian chiefs.

A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single (or dual) leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.

In the case of indigenous tribal societies existing within larger colonial and post-colonial states, tribal chiefs may represent their tribe or ethnicity in a form of self-government.

The most common types are the chairman of a council (usually of "elders") and/or a broader popular assembly in "parliamentary" cultures, the war chief (may be an alternative or additional post in war time), the hereditary chief and the politically dominant medicineman (in "theocratic" cultures).

The term is usually distinct from chiefs at still lower levels, such as village headman (geographically defined) or clan chief (an essentially genealogical notion), as the notion "tribal" rather requires an ethno-cultural identity (racial, linguistic, religious etc.) as well as some political (representative, legislative, executive and/or judicial) expression.

History[link]

Anthropologist Elman Service distinguishes two stages of tribal societies: simple societies organised by limited instances of social rank and prestige, and more stratified societies led by chieftains or tribal kings (chiefdoms). Historically, tribal societies represent an intermediate stage between the band society of the Paleolithic stage and the Civilization with centralized, super-regional government based in cities. Stratified tribal societies led by tribal kings thus flourished from the Neolithic stage into the Iron Age, albeit in competition with civilisations and empires beginning in the Bronze Age. An important source of information for tribal societies of the Iron Age is Greco-Roman ethnography, which describes tribal societies surrounding the urban, imperialist civilisation of the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, tribal kingdoms were again established over much of Europe in the wake of the Migration period. By the High Middle Ages, these had again coalesced into super-regional monarchies.

Tribal societies also remained prevalent in much of the New World, excepting Paleolithic or Mesolithic band societies in Oceania and in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Europeans forced centralized governments onto these societies during Colonialism, but in some instances they have retained or regained partial self-government.

Specific tribal chiefdoms[link]

Americas[link]

• lonco (mapudungun: longko, "head") among the Mapuche
• Morubixaba — tribal Cacique (chief) of the Tupi people
• Oubutu (among the Kalinago people of the the southern Caribbean)
• Rajiv (among the central Trinidadian people of Freeport)
• Tyee tribal chief of the Chinookan (Chinook)^[1][2]

Sub-Saharan Africa[link]

• Eze (Ibo people of Nigeria)
• Gbong Gwon Jos (of the Berom people of Nigeria)
• Kgosi (amongst the Tswana people of Botswana and South Africa, with the House of Khama being its most powerful holders)
• Mogho Naba (in the Ouagadougou region of Burkina Faso)
• Nkosi (Zulu, Ndebele and Xhosa peoples, South Africa and Zimbabwe
• Oba (also in Nigeria, with its various Yoruba and Bini holders claiming direct descent from the deified Oduduwa. Their ministers, governors and nobles, all known in the Yoruba language as Oloyes, are the chiefs who use the word "chief" as an honourific. The Obas, when referred to in English, are variously called kings, monarchs, royal fathers and, officially, traditional rulers).
• Obai (Temne people of Sierra Leone)
• Omanhene (amongst the Akan peoples of Ghana)
• Orkoiyot (Nandi people in Kenya)
• Sarki (in the Hausaland region of Niger and Nigeria)

Oceania[link]

• Ariki, 'ariki henua
• Ibedul
• Iroijlaplap
• Matai, in the Samoan fa'amatai system
• Nahnmwarki, Lepen Palikir
• Rangatira, a chief of Māori in New Zealand
• Ratu

Philippines[link]

• Apo Rodolfo Aguilar (Kudol I) (Paramount Tribal Chieftain of the Tagbanua tribes people living in Banuang Daan and Cabugao settlements in Coron Island, Palawan, Philippines)

Modern states providing an organized form of tribal chiefships[link]

India[link]

Adivasi in Sanskrit refers to indigenous people who have been living in a place from time immemorial, Adi meaning first and vasi meaning inhabitant. These tribes have "Chiefs" and they are referred to by various names. The north eastern states of India, with a large tribal population, is a valid case study. There, tribal chiefs enjoy a lot of power and status.

Middle East[link]

Arabs, in particular peninsular Arabs and nomadic Beduins, are largely organized in tribes, many of whom have official representatives in governments. Tribal chiefs are known as Sheikhs, though this term is also sometimes applied as an honorific title to spiritual leaders of Sufism.

Oceania[link]

The Solomon Islands have a Local Court Act which empowers chiefs to deal with crimes in their communities, thus assuring them of considerable effective authority.

United States[link]

Goyathlay, or Geronimo, Apache chieftain for the Chiricahua

Historical cultural differences between tribes[link]

Generally, a tribe or nation is considered to be part of an ethnic group, usually sharing cultural values. For example, the forest-dwelling Chippewa historically built dwellings from the bark of trees, as opposed to the Great Plains-dwelling tribes, who would not have access to trees, except by trade, for example for lodgepoles. Thus, the tribes of the Great Plains might typically dwell in skin-covered tipis rather than bark lodges. But some Plains tribes built their lodges of earth, as for example the Pawnee.^[1] The Pueblo people, meanwhile, built their dwellings of stone and earth.

Political power in a tribe[link]

A chief might be considered to hold political power, say by oratory or by example. But on the North American continent, it was historically possible to evade the political power of another by migration. The Mingos, for example, were Iroquois who migrated further west to the sparsely populated Ohio Country during the 18th century. Two Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois, Hiawatha and the Great Peacemaker, formulated a constitution for the Iroquois Confederation.

The tribes were pacified by units of the United States Army in the nineteenth century, and were also subject to forced schooling in the decades afterward. Thus, it is uncommon for today's tribes to have a purely Native American cultural background, and today Native Americans are in many ways simply another ethnicity of the secular American people. Because formal education is now respected, some like Peter McDonald, a Navajo, left their jobs in the mainstream U.S. economy to become chairpeople of their tribal councils or similar self-government institutions.

Not all tribal leaders need be men; Wilma Mankiller was a well-known Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Also, though the fount of power might be the chief, he or she is typically not free to wield power without the consent of a council of elders of some kind. For example: Cherokee men were not permitted to go to war without the consent of the council of women.

Tribal government is an official form of government in the United States,^[3] as it is in a number of countries around the world.

Historically, the U.S. government treated tribes as seats of political power, and made treaties with the tribes as legal entities. Be that as it may, the territory of these tribes fell under the authority of the Bureau of Indian Affairs as reservations held in trust for the tribes. Citizenship was formerly considered a tribal matter. For example, it was not until 1924 that the Pueblo people were granted U.S. citizenship, and it was not until 1948 that the Puebloans were granted the right to vote in state elections in New Mexico. In Wisconsin, the Menominee Nation has its own county Menominee County, Wisconsin with special car license plates; 87% of the county's population is therefore Native American.

Mainstream Americans often find pride and comfort in realizing that at least part of their ethnic ancestry is Native American, although the connection is usually only sentimental and not economic or cultural. Thus, there is some political power in one's ability to claim a Native American connection (as in the Black Seminole).

Economic power in a tribe[link]

Because the Nations were sovereign, with treaty rights and obligations, the Wisconsin tribes innovated Indian gaming in 1988,^[4] that is, on-reservation gambling casinos, which have since become a US$14 billion industry nationwide. This has been imitated in many of the respective states that still have Native American tribes. The money that this generates has engendered some political scandal. For example, the Tigua tribe, which fled their ancestral lands in New Mexico during the Pueblo revolt of 1680, and who then settled on land in El Paso County, Texas, has paid^[5] for a low probable return to the tribe because of the Jack Abramoff publicity.

Many of the tribes use professional management for their money. Thus, the Mescalero Apache have renovated their Inn of the Mountain Gods to include gambling as well as the previous tourism, lodging, and skiing in the older Inn, as of 2005.

The Navajo nation defeated bids to open casinos in 1994, but by 2004, the Shiprock casino was a fait accompli.

See also: Economy of the Iroquois

See also[link]

• Cacique
• House of chiefs
• Indirect rule
• Opperhoofd
• Paramount Chief
• Sachem
• Sagamore (title)

Notes[link]

• ^ The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois has an exhibit on the Pawnee earth lodge.
• ^ The Field Museum has exhibits with artifacts, dress, tools and pottery of the Pueblo people, the Northwest tribes, the Plains tribes and the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, especially those of the Midwest.

References[link]

• WorldStatesmen
• List of Tribal Governments in the United States
• CorPun- passim; here Solomon Islands

External links[link]

• Death of Andamanese Tribal Chief in India

Preston Manning CC AOE
Leader of the Opposition
In office June 2, 1997 – March 26, 2000
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Gilles Duceppe
Succeeded by	Deborah Grey
Leader of the Reform Party of Canada
In office October 31, 1987 – March 25, 2000
Preceded by	party created
Succeeded by	Deborah Grey (as Interim leader of the Canadian Alliance)
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Calgary Southwest
In office 1993 – January 31, 2002
Preceded by	Bobbie Sparrow
Succeeded by	Stephen Harper
Personal details
Born	Ernest Preston Manning (1942-06-10) June 10, 1942 (age 70) Edmonton, Alberta
Political party	Reform
Other political affiliations	Canadian Alliance (2000-2002)
Residence	Calgary, Alberta
Religion	Alliance Church
Signature

Ernest Preston Manning, CC AOE (born June 10, 1942) is a Canadian politician. He was the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance. He sat in Parliament for the Canadian Alliance until his retirement from federal politics in 2002, after which it in turn merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to form today's Conservative Party of Canada.

Early life and career[link]

Manning was born in Edmonton, Alberta. He came from a political background: he was the son of Ernest Manning, Social Credit Party Premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968. In 1964, Preston Manning graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.A. in Economics. He sought election to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1965 federal election as a candidate of the federal Social Credit Party, but was defeated. Manning identifies himself as an evangelical Christian and attends the First Alliance Church in Calgary.^[1] In 1984 Manning was hired as a policy consultant by the Representative Party of Alberta.^[2]

Reform Party[link]

Together with Stan Roberts and Francis Winspear, Manning formed the Reform Party in 1987. Intellectual influences included journalist Peter Brimelow and foreign aid critic Paul Fromm.^[3] (Fromm was expelled from the party in 1988). Manning's chief policy adviser was Stephen Harper, a student at the University of Calgary and now the Prime Minister of Canada. Harper designed the Reform Party's 1988 campaign platform. The Reform Party was a combination of fiscal conservatism and populism, though aspects of social conservatism grew, branding the party as "very right-wing." All of the Reform Party's candidates were defeated in the 1988 federal election. However, the first Reform Member of Parliament, Deborah Grey was elected in a federal by-election in 1989 at Beaver River, Alberta. Manning's lack of fluency in French was very nearly a sticking point as attempts were made by the leaders of other parties to block his participation in the Leaders' Debate in 1993, demanding that the leaders should participate fully in both debates. Manning called the move partisan, saying it interfered "with basic freedom of speech." The Reform leader gave an opening and closing statement in the French debate and answered a few (translated) questions. In 1997 Manning also participated in the French Debate with the aid of an earpiece interpreter and answered the questions in English.

Manning was elected to the House of Commons in the 1993 federal election as the MP for Calgary Southwest. Reform had a major breakthrough in this election, winning 52 seats. Of those, 51 were in Western Canada (the other being Simcoe Centre in Ontario), where the party's strong performance was largely because the Progressive Conservatives' support in that region transferred almost en masse. Literally overnight, Manning found himself as the leader of the major right-wing party in Canada.

Despite finishing second in the popular vote, however, Reform came up three seats short of becoming the Official Opposition (Canada), largely because the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois' concentration of support in Quebec was slightly larger than Reform's concentration of support in the West. However, the Liberal government under Jean Chrétien characterized Manning and Reform as their main opponent on non-Quebec matters. In 1995 when Bloc leader Lucien Bouchard's position as Opposition Leader granted him a meeting with visiting US President Bill Clinton, Manning was also given a meeting with Clinton in order to diffuse Bouchard's separatist leverage.^[4]

In the 1997 election, the party won the second-most seats in the Commons, with Manning becoming the Leader of the Opposition.

Conservatives[link]

With Reform's emergence, however, Manning fragmented the conservative vote into two parts - Reform and the weakened PC Party. Additionally, Reform was seen as too extreme for the liking of many voters east of Manitoba. As it is nearly impossible to form a government without substantial support in both Ontario and Quebec, the result was political domination by the Liberal Party.

Manning knew there was little hope of dislodging the Liberals as long as the right remained divided. He turned his attention to reuniting the two conservative parties under his leadership, and he launched the United Alternative movement to examine ways for the parties to cooperate. The movement resulted in the formation of a new party, the Canadian Alliance, which as its full name (Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance) shows, was intended to supplant both parties. However, the new party was dominated by former Reform members; indeed, the Reform caucus essentially became the Alliance caucus. Most of the Tories refused to cooperate, and critics claimed the new party was little more than an image makeover for the Reform Party.

With the formation of the new party, Manning opened the door for rival leadership bids in the Canadian Alliance leadership election. After a fiercely close campaign, Manning was succeeded as leader by the younger and more flamboyant Stockwell Day in 2000. Manning remained as a Canadian Alliance backbencher until his retirement from politics in January 2002.

Evaluation[link]

Most commentary on Manning and his Reform Party ignores his political thinking and portrays him in terms of traditional western-based political protest movements. Sigurdson (1994) argues that Manning should be regarded instead as a postmodern conservative: his politics are a response to the process of postmodernization that has characterized Canada in recent years. Sigurdson looks at the emergence of postmodern politics in the Western world, with special attention to Canadian manifestations. He analyzes the Reform Party in the context of the cultural tension driving Canada's recent political debates, and concludes with a commentary on Manning's contribution to the fragmentation of Canada's traditional party system.^[5]

Post federal politics[link]

In 2003, Manning published his memoirs of political life, Think Big: Adventures in Life and Democracy.^[6] Since this time Manning has continued to write on policy. In particular he has sought to connect conservatism and conservation, and has advocated a shift to green conservatism in Canada.^[7] On the regulation of natural resources, Manning suggested to environmentalist David Suzuki that "there’s a more powerful, far faster mechanism than government regulations: the market itself."^[8]

In 2005, Manning founded the Manning Centre for Building Democracy^[9] to train conservatives for active political life, as well as to provide a research and advocacy forum for conservative issues.^[10] Also in 2005, Manning received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Tyndale University College and Seminary.^[11]

Following the 2006 Alberta Progressive Conservative Party's leadership review vote in which Ralph Klein received the support of only 55% of delegates, Manning told Canadian Press that he was "leaving the door open" for a possible bid in the Progressive Conservative of Alberta leadership election being held to choose a successor to Klein.^[12] Manning announced on May 18, 2006, that he would not be a candidate in the leadership election, citing a desire to remain close to family and to influence politics by generating new policy ideas through The Manning Centre.

In 2007, Manning was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada.^[13] In that year, he also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University,^[14] and was appointed to the Council of Canadian Academies.^[15]

Manning is also a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute^[16] and the Canada West Foundation.^[17] He has also served as Governor General for the British Columbia Universities' Model Parliament Society (2006).

In 2007, Manning hosted a Canadian adaptation of the radio series This I Believe on CBC Radio One.

When Manning was Leader of the Opposition, he was featured in a skit on the Canadian TV show, Royal Canadian Air Farce on December 31, 1997. This skit was one of three contenders for the Viewer's Choice "Flashback" for the episode airing on December 5, 2008.^[18]

In 2011, Manning was named a senior fellow of the Marketplace Institute at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[19]

In 2012, Manning was appointed to the Alberta Order of Excellence.^[20]

Order of Canada Citation[link]

Manning was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2007. His citation reads:^[21]

Preston Manning has devoted his life to public service. Rising to prominence as founder of the Reform Party and leader of the Official Opposition, he steadfastly worked to give voice to the concerns of many Canadians and has tirelessly championed the cause of democratic and political reform. Since his retirement from politics, he has continued his contribution to public policy dialogue through his involvement with numerous research and consulting organizations, including the Fraser Institute, the Canada West Foundation, and the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, which he founded in 2005.

References[link]

Other sources[link]

Video[link]

• Speaking on Re-Engaging Canadians in Democracy on May 20, 2008

Recollections, commentary and analysis[link]

• Cody, Howard. "Captive Three Times Over: Preston Manning and the Dilemmas of the Reform Party." American Review of Canadian Studies. Volume: 28. Issue: 4. 1998. pp 445–67. online edition
• Dabbs, Frank. Preston Manning: The Roots of Reform (2000)
• Dobbin, Murray. Preston Manning and the Reform Party (1991), unsympathetic
• Flanagan, Tom. Waiting for the Wave: The Reform Party and Preston Manning. Toronto: Stoddart, 1995. 245 pp., favourable study by former official of reform Party
• Manning, Preston. The New Canada (1992), Manning's manifesto; a primary source
• Manning, Preston. Think Big: Adventures in Life and Democracy, (2003), his memoir; a primary source
• Sharpe, Sydney and Don Braid. Storming Babylon: Preston Manning and the Rise of the Reform Party (1992)
• Sigurdson, Richard (1994). "Preston Manning and the Politics of Postmodernism in Canada". Canadian Journal of Political Science 27 (2): 249–276. DOI:10.1017/S0008423900017352. 
• Think Big: Adventures in Life and Democracy by Preston Manning
• Like Father, Like Son by Lloyd MacKey
• 2006 Maclean's interview with Manning

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Preston Manning

• PrestonManning.ca
• Manning Centre

v t e   Leaders of the Official Opposition in Canada Mackenzie Macdonald Mackenzie Blake Laurier Tupper Borden Laurier McKenzie King Meighen King Guthrie Bennett King Bennett Manion Hanson Graydon Bracken Drew Rowe Drew Rowe Diefenbaker St. Laurent Pearson Diefenbaker Starr Stanfield Clark Trudeau Clark Nielsen Mulroney Turner Gray Chrétien Bouchard Duceppe Gauthier Duceppe Manning Grey Day Reynolds Harper Hill Harper Graham Dion Ignatieff Layton Turmel Mulcair

Ezra Levant
Ezra Levant in 2008
Born	February 20,[citation needed] 1972 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Education	B.Comm; LLB
Alma mater	University of Calgary, University of Alberta
Religion	Judaism
Website
Ezra Levant

Ezra Isaac Levant (born 1972) is a Canadian media personality, conservative political activist and author. He is the founder and former publisher of the Western Standard, is a broadcaster and columnist for Sun Media and has written several books on politics and public policy.

Early life and education[link]

Born in Calgary, Levant holds a commerce degree from the University of Calgary and a law degree from the University of Alberta. His great-grandfather emigrated to Canada in 1903 from Russia to establish a homestead near Drumheller, Alberta.^[1] Levant grew up in a suburb of Calgary. He attended a Jewish day school in his childhood before transferring to a public junior high school.

Levant campaigned for the Reform Party of Canada as a teenager and joined it as a university student.^[1] In 1992, while at the University of Calgary, his two-person team won the "best debating" category in the Intercollegiate Business Competition held at Queen's University.^[2] In 1994, he was featured in a Globe and Mail article on young conservatives after accusing the University of Alberta of racism for instituting an affirmative action program of hiring women and aboriginal professors. His actions outraged aboriginal law students, feminists, and a number of professors, and he was called to a meeting with the assistant dean who advised him of the university's non-academic code of conduct and defamation laws. As head of the university's speakers committee, Levant organized a debate between Doug Christie, a lawyer known for his advocacy in defence of Holocaust deniers and accused Nazi war criminals, and Thomas Kuttner, a Jewish lawyer from the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission.^[1]

Levant gained a reputation as the university's leading conservative. He was invited to write a guest column for the Edmonton Journal and interviewed on television.^[3] He spent the summer of 1994 in Washington, D.C., in an internship arranged by the libertarian Charles G. Koch Foundation Summer Fellow Program. He worked for the Fraser Institute in 1995, writing Youthquake, which argued for smaller government, including privatization of the Canada Pension Plan. Levant saw "youthquake", the term he used to describe what he identified as a conservative youth movement of the 1990s, as similar to the 1960s civil rights movement except that instead of being enslaved by racism, his generation was "enslaved by debt" and, in order to liberate itself, society needed to dismantle elements such as trade unions, the minimum wage, universal health care, subsidized tuition and public pension plans.^[4]

Political activism[link]

Views on Quebec[link]

Levant favoured Quebec separatism and a yes vote during the 1995 Quebec referendum in a Calgary Sun column titled "10 Reasons to Hope for a Yes Victory"^[5] Among his 10 reasons were Levant's views that the departure of Quebec from Canadian confederation would lead to the elimination of bilingualism and multiculturalism, that it would give the Canadian government the "fortitude" to say no to "other special interest groups" such as First Nations and environmentalists; it would end corruption in Parliament, which Levant blamed on Quebec politicians, and clear the way for Preston Manning to become Prime Minister of Canada.^[6]

In 1996, Levant wrote a column saying that if the federal Liberals were re-elected, Alberta could separate from Canada making it "free from Quebec's demands."^[6]

Uniting the right[link]

In 1996, Levant worked with David Frum to organize the "Winds of Change" conference in Calgary, an early attempt to encourage the Reform Party of Canada and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to merge so that a united rightwing party could defeat the Liberal Party of Canada in the subsequent election.^[7] While unsuccessful, the conference anticipated future attempts at a Unite the Right movement which ultimately led to the formation of the Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. Levant supported Preston Manning's United Alternative initiative in 1999, a more advanced attempt to unite the country's conservative movement^[8] and was one of the leaders of the movement to create the Canadian Alliance as an attempt to broaden the party's base.^[9]

Political organizer and aide[link]

While he was a student-at-law, Levant was an active political organizer in the Reform Party, and guided the successful attempts by Rahim Jaffer (as the campaign manager for his nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona and later as his communications-director during the 1997 Federal Election) and Rob Anders to win party nominations.^[10] In 1997, he went to Ottawa to work for the Reform Party, becoming a parliamentary aide to party leader Preston Manning and being put in charge of Question Period strategy.^[6] Along with newly-elected MP's Rob Anders, Jason Kenney and Rahim Jaffer, Levant was part of an up and coming group of young Reformers which pundits dubbed the "Snack Pack" due to their relative youth.

In 1999, after being dismissed as Preston Manning's legislative-assistant, Levant left Ottawa to join the editorial board of the fledgling National Post newspaper in Toronto.^[9][11] A close friend of Stockwell Day's son Logan, Levant proclaimed himself a "Stockaholic"^[12] and supported the elder Day in his successful attempt to defeat Reform Party leader Preston Manning for the leadership of the new Canadian Alliance.^{[citation needed]}

In February 2001, he returned to Ottawa as communications director to Day.^[13] In May of that year he resigned after leaking to the National Post a letter that he sent to dissident MP Chuck Strahl in which he threatened to sue over Strahl's criticisms of his office.^[14][15][16]

Candidacy and resignation[link]

Later in 2001, Levant returned to Calgary to practice law. By February 2002 he had won the Canadian Alliance party nomination for the riding of Calgary Southwest,^[17] but stepped aside after public pressure so that new party leader Stephen Harper could run there in a 2002 by-election. When the by-election was called, Levant, who said he spent over $150,000 to gain the nomination,^[18] announced on March 28 that he would not step aside.^[12][19] Later that night, however, he relented after widespread pressure from the party and accusations that he was putting himself ahead of the party.^[20]

Publishing[link]

In 2004 Levant co-founded the Western Standard, an Alberta-based magazine with an emphasis on Western Canada, political conservatism, and libertarianism.^[21] In October 2007 the magazine stopped publishing its print edition after failing to become profitable,^[22] becoming an online magazine. Levant later sold the publication's remaining assets to Matthew Johnson, the former legislative aide to Rahim Jaffer.^[23]

Levant wrote an irregular column for the Calgary Sun for ten years, until he was dropped in October 2007 because of "internal decisions."^[24] He continued to write occasional columns for the National Post on a freelance basis.^[25]

In 2010, Levant joined Sun Media a columnist and now has an on-air position on the Sun TV News Channel as host of The Source.^[26]

Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy[link]

In February 2006, the Western Standard published the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons depicting Muhammad.^[27] Syed Soharwardy of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada and the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities complained about the publication to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission and a hearing was scheduled for January 2008. On the day of the hearing Levant republished the cartoons on his website.^[25]

At the request of Levant and his lawyers Levant was allowed to videotape his interview with Shirlene McGovern, a human rights investigator with the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Levant later published that video on YouTube where it spent several days among the top-ten viewed videos. Soharwardy's complaint was ultimately withdrawn,^[28] and a complaint he filed with Calgary police came to naught. An identical complaint by the Edmonton Muslim Council was dismissed by the Commission on August 5, 2008.

The timing of the Levant case was notable in that it coincided with a high-profile case considered by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (which Levant has criticized), the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal and the Ontario Human Rights Commission regarding complaints by the Canadian Islamic Congress about a column by Mark Steyn in Maclean's Magazine. None of the complaints obtained a ruling against Steyn or Maclean's.

Stance against the Alberta Human Rights Commission[link]

Levant is a fierce critic of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, particularly concerning Rev. Stephen Boissoin, who in the Lund v. Boissoin matter was fined $7,000 and banned from publicly "disparaging ... gays and lesbians" in May 2008. This case concerned a letter published by the Red Deer Advocate in 2002 in which Boissoin attacked the "homosexual agenda" as "wicked". In June 2008, Levant republished Boissoin's letter on his blog.^[29] When the AHRC dismissed the resulting complaint in November 2008, Levant accused the HRCs of religious discrimination, asserting that "100% of the CHRC's targets have been white, Christian or conservative" and that "It's legal for a Jew like me to publish [Boissoin’s letter]. It's illegal for a Christian like Rev. Boissoin to publish it."^[30] The HRC's ruling was overturned by the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta in 2009, on the grounds that Levant had the right to free speech.^[31]

Support and criticism[link]

Levant's case has attracted the attention of organizations such as PEN Canada,^[32] the Canadian Association of Journalists,^[33] and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association^[34] — all of which have called for reform of the commissions. He has been featured on Glenn Beck's show on CNN.^[35] Levant supported the Canadian government's decision to refuse George Galloway entry into Canada in March 2009. Although Levant described it as "an immigration matter", free speech advocates protested this move, citing it as a hypocritical double standard.^[36]

Ezra has been a frequent critic of Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, who is Muslim, calling him an "anti-Christian bigot".^[37][38]

Libel cases[link]

In 1988, Levant wrote a Reform Party fundraising letter in which he criticized Alberta Progressive Conservative Senator Ron Ghitter . Ghitter sued for defamation and in 2000, Canadian Alliance MP Rob Anders and Levant admitted liability and issued a formal apology and undisclosed damages to settle the suit.^[39][40]

According to Levant, after the HRC cases against him were dismissed, "the most aggressive members of the human rights industry proceeded to punish [him] by filing over 20 law society complaints and five defamation suits against [him]. ... the point of all these lawsuits [is] just to bury [him] in an avalanche of paperwork and bills, to get [him] to shut up. So far, it ain't working."^[41]

The Law Society of Alberta had found that Levant violated the following rules of professional conduct: to “respect and uphold the law in personal conduct,” to “seek to improve the justice system,” to not “ act in a manner that might weaken public respect for the law,” to be “courteous and candid,” and to not “harass any person or discriminate against any person” on various prohibited grounds and ordered Levant to attend a "mandatory conduct advisory" after which the matter was dropped.^[42]

As a result of one lawsuit, Levant was ordered to pay $25,000 to Giacomo Vigna, a Canadian Human Rights Commission lawyer, for libelling him with "reckless indifference" in his blog. Justice Robert Smith ruled that Levant "spoke in reckless disregard of the truth and for an ulterior purpose of denormalizing the Human Rights Commission across Canada which makes his statements malicious in that sense" and ordered Levant to remove the libellous materials from his blog.^[43]

Lawyer Richard Warman is also suing Levant as well as Kathy Shaidle, Kate McMillan of Small Dead Animals and several other conservative bloggers for libel over statements made about Warman on Free Dominion.^[44] Levant says this "lawsuit isn't logical, or serious. It's a nuisance suit."^[45]

Levant is also being sued by Warren Kinsella for libel, asking for $5,000,000. Levant has called Kinsella's suit "laughable".^[46]

George Soros[link]

In September 2010, Levant wrote a column for Sun Media accusing George Soros of funding avaaz.org, a group lobbying to stop Sun Media being granted a license for Sun TV News Channel, and strongly attacking Soros's character and history by alleging that as a child he collaborated with the Nazis.^[47] Soros threatened to sue Sun Media for libel^[47] and on September 18, Sun Media issued a retraction and apology to Soros.^[48]

Recent activities[link]

In July 2008, Levant was invited to be a witness before the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Caucus "about the threat posed by radical Islam using Western legal mechanisms as weapons".^[49]

From 2009 until 2010, Levant worked as a lobbyist for Rothman's Incorporated, a manufacturer and distributor of tobacco products.^[50]

In March 2010, Levant accompanied U.S. conservative personality Ann Coulter on a Canadian speaking tour. Her speech at the University of Ottawa was canceled at the last minute, apparently by its organizers, because of what Levant called "physical danger to Coulter and the audience" from protesters. The Ottawa Police later disputed any claims of unrest or violence.^[51][52][53]

Ethical Oil[link]

In September 2010, Levant published a book, Ethical Oil: The Case for Canada's Oil Sands, arguing a moral case for developing the Athabasca oil sands rather than importing oil from nations with bad records concerning human rights and the environment.^[54] The book was the winner of the 2011 National Business Book Award, awarded on May 12, 2011 in Toronto.

Sun Media[link]

Levant hosts The Source, an evening talk show host on the Sun News Network and writes a regular column for the Sun Media chain of newspapers.^[55]

CBC opponent[link]

Sun Media, owned by Quebecor, has also systematically opposed funding for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, led by Levant and Brian Lilley.^[56]

Books[link]

• Youthquake. Fraser Institute. 1996. ISBN 0-88975-167-6. 
• Fight Kyoto: The plan to protect our economy. Essence Publishing. 2002. ISBN 1-55306-546-8. 
• The War On Fun. Western Standard. 2005. ISBN 0-9739541-0-8. 
• Shakedown: How our government is undermining democracy in the name of human rights. McLelland & Stewart. 2009. ISBN 0-7710-4618-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=Cf10fE2hP4cC&printsec=frontcover&dq=shakedown+levant#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Ethical Oil: The Case for Canada's Oil Sands. McLelland & Stewart. 2010. ISBN 0-7710-4641-3. 
• The Enemy Within: Terror, Lies, and the Whitewashing of Omar Khadr. McLelland & Stewart. 2011. ISBN 0-7710-4621-9. 

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Ezra Levant's blog
• YouTube Account

For the financial analyst, see David Beers (businessman)

David Beers is a Canadian journalist. He was born in 1957 and grew up in San Jose, California, where his father worked for Lockheed as a satellite test engineer. He attended Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. He was the former editor of Mother Jones Magazine. He is a faculty member in the School of Journalism at the University of British Columbia.^[1].

Life[link]

Over the past two decades, Beers’ work has been published in magazines including the Los Angeles Times Magazine^[2] and Harper's.^[3] In 1994, "We’re No Angels" was a finalist for the Canadian National Magazine Award.^[4]

In 2002, after being fired from the Vancouver Sun over a controversial editorial about freedom of speech in a post-9/11 milieu, Beers started an online publication in Vancouver, British Columbia called The Tyee. Funded in large part by non-profit groups, the British Columbia Federation of Labour and an advertising agency called Quest Advertising, the Tyee's goal is to publish news and opinion not adequately covered by the mainstream news media.^[5] His book, Blue Sky Dream: A Memoir of America's Fall from Grace, is based on his essay, "The Crash of Blue Sky California", which won the American National Magazine Awards when it appeared in Harper's.^[6]

Beers lives in Vancouver with his wife Deirdre Kelly, and their two children.

Works[link]

• "The Public Sphere and Online, Independent Journalism", CSSE
• "It's all good: The appeal of Deepak Chopra", Salon, May 10, 2001

• Blue Sky Dream: A Memoir of America's Fall from Grace, 1996, ISBN 0-15-600531-X

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Tyee

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