James Eayrs

James George Eayrs, OC, FRSC (13 October 1926 – 6 February 2021) was a Canadian political scientist and journalist. ^[1][2]

James Eayrs OC, FRSC
Eayrs in 1972
Born	James George Eayrs (1926-10-13)October 13, 1926 London, England
Died	February 6, 2021(2021-02-06) (aged 94) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Spouse	Elizabeth Eayrs
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Toronto Columbia University London School of Economics
Academic work
Discipline	Political science
Institutions	University of Toronto Dalhousie University

Biography

Eayrs won the Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction at the 1965 Governor General's Awards for his book In Defence of Canada: From the Great War to the Great Depression.^[3] The book, which examined Canadian military and defence policy during the period between the First World War and the Great Depression,^[4] was the first in a multi-volume series on Canadian military history and was followed by In Defence of Canada, Vol. 2: Appeasement and Rearmament (1965),^[5] In Defence of Canada: Peacemaking and Deterrence (1972),^[6] In Defence of Canada: Growing Up Allied (1980)^[7] and In Defence of Canada: Indochina, Roots of Complicity (1983).^[8][9]

A professor of political economy at the University of Toronto^[2] and later of political science at Dalhousie University, he was awarded the Canada Council Molson Prize in 1984^[10] and was named a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.^[11] In 1985, he was appointed to the Order of Canada.^[12]

Eayrs was also active as a journalist, writing a weekly public affairs column for the Montreal Star and later the Toronto Star.^[1] As a broadcaster, he wrote for the CTV series Here Come the Seventies and then cohosted with Charlotte Gobeil the CBC television program, Weekend.^[1]

His wife, Elizabeth Eayrs, sat on Toronto City Council from 1972 to 1978.^[13][14]