Izzy Asper was the founder and owner of the now-defunct TV and media company CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO and President Leonard Asper, former director and corporate secretary Gail Asper, and former Executive Vice President David Asper.
24 Facts About Izzy Asper
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Izzy Asper was the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party from 1970 to 1975 and is credited with the idea and vision to establish the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
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Israel Asper was born on August 11,1932, to a Jewish family in Minnedosa, Manitoba, the son of musicians Leon Asper and Cecilia Swet, who had emigrated from Ukraine in the 1920s.
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Izzy Asper married Ruth Miriam "Babs" Bernstein on May 27,1956, at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, Winnipeg.
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Izzy Asper attended the University of Manitoba Law School in Winnipeg, where he received his law degree in 1957 and was called to the bar shortly thereafter in July, eventually receiving a Master of Laws in 1964.
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On October 7,2003, Izzy Asper died in St Boniface Hospital at the age of 71 after suffering a heart attack.
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Izzy Asper was buried in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery in Winnipeg in the presence of 1,500 mourners, including Prime Minister Jean Chretien and leading politicians.
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Also that year, Izzy Asper was elected leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party.
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Izzy Asper advocated the public financing of election campaigns, to ensure that politics would not be dominated entirely by monied interests.
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Izzy Asper's Liberals won only five seats, and Asper was elected in Wolseley by only four votes.
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Izzy Asper resigned as party leader and MLA in 1975, though he continued to support the Manitoba Liberal Party in later years.
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Shortly after, in 1977, Izzy Asper formed CanWest Global Communications Corporation, which grew to encompass the Global Television Network, among other assets.
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Izzy Asper was noted for his fierce loyalty to Manitoba and western Canada, refusing enticements to move east to Toronto.
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Izzy Asper was a noted philanthropist, making major donations to the areas of culture, arts, and education; to expand on these endeavours, the Asper Foundation was established in 1983 in Winnipeg.
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In 1997, to focus on his philanthropic career, Izzy Asper resigned as CEO of CanWest to become Executive Chairman.
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Izzy Asper was a prominent member of Canada's Jewish community and a vocal supporter for the State of Israel.
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Izzy Asper was a close friend of Jean Chretien and Paul Martin.
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Israel Izzy Asper first had the idea to build the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on 18 July 2000.
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Izzy Asper spent the next three years making the CMHR a reality, and had a thorough feasibility study conducted by museum experts from around Canada.
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In 2003, Izzy Asper established a private charitable organization to build the CMHR, called the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
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The Izzy Asper Foundation received its heraldic emblem from the Canadian Heraldic Authority in January 2003.
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The Foundation was established in 1983 by Israel and Babs Izzy Asper, created from the wealth they had generated via CanWest, to build upon theirs and their family's philanthropic endeavours.
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In 1997, to focus on this philanthropy, Israel Izzy Asper resigned as CEO of CanWest, remaining as Executive Chairman instead.
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The Izzy Asper Foundation created and sourced the funding for Canada's 5th national museum, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.