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Michael Arthur Meighen (born March 25, 1939) is a Canadians lawyer, cultural patron, and former senator. He practised as a litigation and commercial lawyer in Montreal and Toronto. He is a grandson of Arthur Meighen, the ninth Prime Minister of Canada.
Born in Montreal in 1939, Meighen was educated at Selwyn House School from 1945 to 1953 and Trinity College School from 1953 to 1956. Selwyn House School Yearbook 1953 Notable Alumni He later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960 from McGill University, where he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi Memorial Chapter and Scarlet Key Honor Society.
In 1972 and again in 1974, he was the Progressive Conservative candidate in the Montreal riding of Westmount, losing on both occasions to Liberal Charles Drury.
He served as national president of the Progressive Conservative Party from 1974 to 1977, during which time he oversaw the 1976 leadership convention that chose Joe Clark to succeed Robert Stanfield as party leader.
More recently, Meighen was the only Conservative senator to vote in favour of same-sex marriage. He was a member of the Banking Trade and Commerce, National Security & Defense and Fisheries committees. Meighen also chaired the Senate Sub-Committee on Veterans Affairs. Meighen was vice-chair of the Senate Committee on National Defence and Security until February 2007, when the Prime Minister's Office instructed him and the chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, fellow moderate Tory Hugh Segal, to resign their positions. Reportedly, Prime Minister Stephen Harper wished to promote more ideologically conservative senators. Meighen resigned from the Senate on February 6, 2012, shortly before his 73rd birthday (he would have had to take mandatory retirement on his 75th).
He and his wife, Kelly Meighen (née Dillon), are benefactors of the Stratford Festival. In 2004, he became Canadian chair of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, which promotes conservation efforts. He is past chair of the Stratford Festival, current chair of the T. R. Meighen Family Foundation and served as chancellor of the University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
On January 16, 2014, McGill University appointed Meighen as its 19th Chancellor, for a three-year term beginning on July 1, 2014. Michael A. Meighen named 19th Chancellor of McGill, McGill Newsroom Media Relations Office (January 17, 2014) Retrieved 2017-09-24. Also in 2014, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada.
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