Melville Henry Watkins was a Canadian political economist and activist and professor emeritus of economics and political science at the University of Toronto.
10 Facts About Mel Watkins
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Mel Watkins was a founder and co-leader with James Laxer of the Waffle, a left-wing political formation within the New Democratic Party that advocated an "independent socialist Canada" and Canadian nationalism.
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Mel Watkins was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2019.
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Mel Watkins pursued graduate work as a classical economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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The group was essentially expelled from the New Democratic Party in 1972 and while Mel Watkins supported the group's attempt to form a new left-wing political party, the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada, his interest and involvement waned, particularly when he left to spend time in the far north to investigate the living conditions of the Dene people.
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Mel Watkins placed second on both occasions behind Liberal Maria Minna.
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Mel Watkins supported the New Politics Initiative, which was formed in 2001 to attempt to convince the NDP to join with social movements to found a new left-wing party.
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Mel Watkins retired from academia and moved to Constance Bay in eastern Ontario, where he continued to write a column for This Magazine and pieces for other publications.
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Mel Watkins was a board member of and regular contributor to the online newsmagazine Straight Goods.
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Mel Watkins served as president of Science for Peace, and was a member of Pugwash Canada.