VANCOUVER – The entire UBC Thunderbirds family is mourning the passing of former Prime Minister, UBC Track & Field star athlete, and UBC Sports Hall of Fame inductee, the Right Honourable John Turner who died at his Toronto home Saturday at the age of 91.
Excelling both in the classroom and on the track while at UBC, Turner is best known for his lengthy public service career which spanned decades, highlighted by his tenure as Canada's 17
th Prime Minister in 1984.
One of the great sprinters in UBC history, Turner was one of the three fastest men in Canada between 1947 and 1949. He led UBC to two Pacific Northwest Conference track championships and his Canadian-best in the 100 and 200 yards qualified him for Canada's 1948 Olympic team. A popular, active student, he was the Sports Editor of the Ubyssey, graduating from UBC at age 19 with a Rhodes Scholarship.
Turner enrolled in Arts at UBC in 1945 at the age of 16, having attended high school in Ottawa. While in high school, "Chick" was well known as a track man winning the Canadian junior championship in both the 100 yard and 200 yard dashes.
In June of 1947, at a track meet in Seattle, Turner recorded the fastest time by a Canadian in the 100 yard dash, covering the distance in a UBC record 9.8 seconds. His was among the top Canadian performances of 1947 in 220 yards as well, with a 23.1 clocking at the 1947 Canadian track and field championships. In May of 1947 he proved to be the best in Canada in the 220 yards finishing first in 22.8 seconds at a Vancouver race.
According to the Ubyssey, the 19 year-old rolled sportsmanship, scholarship and leadership – the threefold Rhodes ideals – into a handsome package that made him undoubtedly the university's most popular student.
From UBC, Turner went to Oxford where he studied law and in 1954 was called to the Quebec Bar. In 1962, described as tirelessly outgoing yet pragmatic with ideals, Turner ran successfully for the federal Liberals and later served as Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance under Prime Ministers Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau.
Just after the death of UBC's Johnny Owen in 1965, Turner returned to UBC to dedicate and officially open the site for the John Owen Pavilion, now the Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre. It was Turner's idea and his influence that made this facility and tribute a reality. In 2007, Turner returned to the UBC campus once again, to receive the UBC Alumni Award of Distinction.
When Pierre Trudeau retired in 1984, Turner was elected Liberal leader thus becoming Prime Minister, however the Liberals were defeated in the ensuing federal election. He did however remain Liberal leader and leader of the opposition until 1990 and continued to serve as MP for Vancouver-Quadra until 1993 at which point he retired to once again resume his legal career.
Turner was inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He was the recipient of many honourary degrees, including a Doctor of Laws from UBC in 1994. Turner was named Companion of the Order of Canada in 1994 and later received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Canada in 2012 as one of his many other accolades.
Turner is survived by his wife, Geills, whom he married in 1963, and his four children.
