12 Facts About Mitchell Sharp

Mitchell Sharp served in both the private and public sectors during his long career.

Mitchell Sharp earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba in 1934 and completed post-graduate work at that university and then at the London School of Economics.

From 1951 to 1957, Mitchell Sharp served as the Associate Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce.

In 1963, Mitchell Sharp was elected as a member of Parliament representing Eglinton.

From 1965 through 1968, Mitchell Sharp was the Minister of Finance.

Mitchell Sharp disliked Canada's constitutional structure, revealing in his 1994 memoirs that because of his negative views on the monarchy, he refused to accept Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's offer to recommend him for appointment as governor general.

Mitchell Sharp's support was influential in securing a prominent position for the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 67 during the Canadian Centennial, which initially been proposed to be much smaller, limited to a single acre.

Mitchell Sharp re-entered the public sector as the commissioner of the Northern Pipeline Agency, an agency formed under the Northern Pipeline Act to give effect to the US-Canada Agreement on Principles Applicable to a Northern Natural Gas Pipeline, from 1978 until 1988.

Mitchell Sharp was a personal adviser to Prime Minister Jean Chretien from 1993 to 2003, a job for which he was paid $1 a year.

On February 22,2004, Mitchell Sharp fell and broke his collarbone in his home.

Mitchell Sharp was sworn in as a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on 22 April 1963, giving him the honorific prefix The Honourable and the post-nominal letters "PC" for life.

Michell Mitchell Sharp received several honorary degrees in recognition of his service to Canada.