By Canadian Press

Former finance minister, diplomat, university chancellor Michael Wilson dies

Feb 10, 2019 | 9:09 PM

TORONTO — Michael Wilson, a former politician, diplomat and longtime mental health advocate, has died at 81.

The University of Toronto, where Wilson served as chancellor from 2012 to 2018, confirmed his death in a post on its website Sunday evening.

The school’s president, Meric Gertler, calls Wilson a “great Canadian” who improved many lives through his “comprehensive excellence, his unassuming generosity and his quiet compassion.”

Wilson served for over a decade as the MP for the Toronto-area riding of Etobicoke Centre, including time as finance minister and minister of international trade under then prime minister Brian Mulroney.

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From March 2006 until October 2009, he served as Canada’s ambassador to the United States.

After losing his son Cameron to suicide in 1995, Wilson became a passionate advocate for mental health, and often spoke about the need for access to care.

The Canadian Press