Posted by Carol Hutchinson on Apr 24, 2019
Guest Speaker:  Friday, May 10, 2019.  Location:  The National Club, 303 Bay Street
Topic:  Just Give Me a Minute:  Teaching Canadian History in 60 Seconds.  Host: Club Past President Robert O'Brien

Anthony Wilson-Smith is a native of Montreal and has had an extensive and successful career as a journalist and editor followed by senior executive and management positions at the federal level.
Mr. Wilson-Smith spent much of his career as a journalist with Maclean’s Magazine, serving at various times as Quebec Bureau Chief, Ottawa Editor, Moscow Bureau Chief, Editor-at-Large, columnist and Editor-in Chief.  During that time he worked on assignment in all of the country’s provinces and territories and more than 35 countries.   
 
As a social and political commentator, he has appeared on national and international media including Great Britain’s BBC and ITV, ABC News and C-SPAN in the United States, Moskovskii Novosti in Russia and all of Canada’s national television networks in French and English. 
 
Following his tenure with Macleans Magazine and a writer for prominent Canadian newspapers,  he held senior executive roles at a federal Crown corporation and one of Canada’s largest financial institutions.  In 2012 Mr. Wilson-Smith became  President and CEO of Historica Canada, the country’s largest organization devoted to promoting our nation’s history and the values of Canadian citizenship.   Historica’s programs include the Heritage Minutes which is a regular feature on Canadian television stations and the Canadian Encyclopedia which has reached more than 27 million Canadians last year.    Mr. Wilson-Smith has received awards for this work as a magazine journalist and has been honored for his volunteer work in the mental health sector and in promoting diversity.
  
In 2018 he was awarded the Sovereign’s Medal for Community Service.  He has also served as Chair of the Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Canadian Journalism Foundation, as a Judge on the 2019 Newspaper Awards and is past Chairman of Journalists for Human Rights.
 
Anthony speaks French and Russian and lives in Toronto with his wife, two children, two rescue cats and dog.