Remembering a ‘giant of Prairie politics’

Peter Meekison, beloved political science scholar and co-architect of the Canadian constitution, leaves an enduring legacy.

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Peter Meekison, who passed away Jan. 20 at the age of 88, leaves an enduring legacy as a beloved political science scholar at the U of A and a co-architect of the Canadian Constitution. (Photo: Supplied)

Peter Meekison was a humble man, not easily given to self-promotion.

The University of Alberta political science scholar and statesman would not be the one to tell you that he helped shape the Canadian constitution, making significant contributions to the amending formula in 1982 that ensured provinces had more rights in the new framework for federalism.

Meekison died Jan. 20 at the age of 88 in Victoria after a long career as a scholar, university administrator, professor and mentor to generations of students. According to U of A political scientist Jared Wesley, he was a “giant of Prairie politics … a model statesman-scholar.”

“Alberta has earned its place as an equal province around the confederation table due in no small part to his research and diplomacy. He returned the favour to the academic community by publishing widely on intergovernmental relations in Canada, and putting his skills to work as a chair and university administrator.”

Meekison was a constitutional adviser to the Province of Alberta for more than 20 years, first as a close adviser to Premier Peter Lougheed through the patriation of the Canadian Constitution in 1982, then contributing to discussions around the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords.

In 1993, he was appointed a commissioner of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, helping to produce its historic 1996 report.

“Peter was someone who cared deeply about Canada,” says Patricia Paradis, former executive director of the Centre for Constitutional Studies in the U of A’s Faculty of Law.

“He was a strategic thinker, a great teacher and, above all, a humble and heartfelt humanist.”

Meekison was born in Vancouver, B.C., in 1937, receiving a BSc in mechanical engineering in 1959 and a BA in economics and political science in 1961 from the University of British Columbia. He received an MA in political science from the University of Western Ontario in 1962 and a PhD in political science in 1965 from Duke University.

He joined the U of A in 1967, chairing the Department of Political Science from 1972 to 1974.

In 1974, Meekison took a 10-year leave of absence from the U of A to serve as a trusted adviser to Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed, working as deputy minister of Alberta Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs. He participated in numerous federal-level negotiations on the National Energy Program and the patriation of the Constitution.

During the 1981 constitutional negotiations, Meekison was a leading architect of its general amending formula, also known as the 7/50 rule. It dictates that a change to the Constitution can only be made following resolutions of the Senate and House of Commons, as well as two-thirds of the provinces that make up at least 50 per cent of Canada’s population.

At Lougheed’s side, Meekison was a key player in the dramatic talks — including the climactic “Night of Long Knives” — that secured the agreement between Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the provincial premiers reflected in the Constitution Act of 1982.

Meekison’s leadership on the amending formula — along with the notwithstanding clause, crafted by architects including his former doctoral student Howard Leeson — was crucial to sealing the deal.

“He knew the part he played in those talks, but he went out of his way to give credit to others, particularly Premier Lougheed,” says Andy Grabia, a former U of A communications associate who interviewed Meekison for a Canada 150 article in 2017.

“When I suggested to him that the people who patriated the constitution might be considered ‘new Fathers of Confederation,’ he just laughed,” says Grabia. “He wanted no part of that. He was proud of the work, and a proud Canadian, but wanted no special distinctions for himself.”

After the interview, “I got off the phone, and my editor was laughing at me,” says Grabia. “He said I was as giddy as a little kid the whole time I was talking to Dr. Meekison. The man was a rock star.”

Meekison became the U of A’s vice-president academic in 1984, a position he held for six years. He was also a highly regarded scholar and teacher, with book publications including Canadian Federalism: Myth or Reality (1968), Canada: The State of the Federation 2002 (2004) and Origins and Meaning of Section 92A (1985). He held the Belzberg Chair in Constitutional Law in the Faculty of Law from 1991 to 1994. He is the namesake of the J. Peter Meekison Graduate Scholarship in Political Science, funded by his family, friends and colleagues to support students entering master’s studies in Canadian politics or federalism.

“He was a mentor to generations of students and often held discussion sessions in his University Hall office, which was always packed,” says Ellen Schoeck, a close friend who served as director of the university secretariat, ombudsperson and the university's first sexual harassment adviser during the 1980s and 1990s.

“I became keenly aware of Peter’s kindness to people,” she says. “He always listened carefully and never pulled rank.”

Describing Meekison as her mentor, former dean of arts Pat Clements says he “loved this university and knew it better than any other vice-president I remember. Instead of summoning people to his office, he would go to them, walking miles around campus, talking to people and listening.”

As vice-president academic, Meekison helped Clements and her Department of English and Film Studies colleague Isobel Grundy launch the Orlando Project, which uses digital tools to advance feminist literary history and scholarship. It is still regularly updated by scholars worldwide.

After retiring from the U of A, Meekison became an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Victoria. In 2005, he served as the public administrator for Okanagan University College, overseeing its transformation to the University of British Columbia Okanagan and Okanagan College.

He sat on the board of governors of Royal Roads University from 2008 to 2013, where he was also acting vice-president academic and provost, chancellor and board chair. He was a board member of the Canada West Foundation and a member of the advisory council of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s University.

An officer of the Order of Canada, he received numerous awards including the Queen’s Golden and Silver Jubilee medals, the 125th Anniversary of Canada Medal and the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Excellence in Public Administration for the Province of Alberta.

Karen Wichuk — a former master’s student and U of A associate vice-president of government relations — recalls sharing an office with Meekison.

“I helped pack up his office for retirement, and sent numerous priceless notes, papers and books to the University Archives — a gift of a lifetime for me. What a way to hear first-hand about everything from his philosophy on teaching to university governance to constitutional negotiations to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.”

In 2008, Meekison received an honorary doctorate from the U of A. A tree planted in his honour and a plaque citing his work on the Constitution are located just outside the Alberta School of Business on the university’s North Campus.

“In later years when I visited Dr. Meekison,” says Wichuk, “he would say, ‘It was always about the students; I just loved the students.’”