Media Profiles

The Asper Family

By Paul Attallah and Leslie Regan Shade

Israel "Izzy" H. Asper was executive chairman of CanWest Global Communications Corporation, headquartered in Winnipeg. He died in October 2003.

Asper's career began in law and politics. In 1964, he was called to the Manitoba bar and established himself as an expert on tax law. From 1970 to 1975, he was leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party and from 1972 to 1975 sat in opposition as a member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly.

In the early 1970s, Asper established CanWest Capital Corporation and received a licence to set up the Winnipeg independent television station CKND. In 1974, Asper helped salvage a Toronto-based station known as Global Television. It became the cornerstone of the Global Television system. Additionally, Asper extended his broadcast holdings across Western Canada. Today, the Global Television network reaches 94% of Canadians.

CanWest has also expanded internationally. It owns 57.5% of the Australian TEN Network, 29.9% of UTV (Northern Ireland), and 45% of TV3 (Republic of Ireland), and 100% of TV3 and TV4 (both in New Zealand). It also owns Canadian specialty channels (Prime, MenTV, Mystery, DejaView, Lonestar, Fox SportsWorld Canada, Extreme Sports). It produces film and television through Fireworks Productions. It owns radio stations in New Zealand.

In the 1990s, control of CanWest Global passed increasingly to Asper’s children. Eldest son Leonard joined CanWest in 1991 as Associate General Counsel for the company's Global Television station in Ontario. In 1997, he was elected to the Board of Directors and is now Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation. He has stated that his goal is to make CanWest one of the world’s top 5 media corporations within the next decade. Second son David is also a member of the Board and is Chairman of the Board’s Publications Committee. Daughter Gail is Corporate Secretary and President of CanWest Global Foundation which oversees charitable activities.

In 2000, CanWest Global acquired the Southam newspaper chain from Conrad Black*s Hollinger Corporation as well as 50% of the National Post; in 2001, it gained full control of the National Post in 2001. This caused outcries of media concentration which gained momentum when CanWest introduced the editorial policy of requiring all its newspapers centrally-written editorials and to avoid contradicting them.

CanWest Global Communications Corp.