Graham Spry
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Graham Spry CC |
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|---|---|
| Born |
February 20, 1900 St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | November 24, 1983 (aged 83) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
Graham Spry, CC (February 20, 1900 - November 24, 1983) was a Canadian broadcasting pioneer, business executive, diplomat and socialist. He was the husband of Irene Spry and father of Robin Spry, Richard Spry and Lib Spry.
He was born in St. Thomas, Ontario. While a student at the University of Manitoba, he became an editorial writer at the Manitoba Free Press, where he was mentored by editor and Canadian nationalist John W. Dafoe. He also edited the student newspaper, the Manitoban. He then studied history at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Upon his return to Canada, he became Secretary of the Canadian Clubs, and organized a nationwide broadcast to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Canadian Confederation. The accomplishment, achieved despite the lack of a national radio network, convinced Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to appoint the Aird Commission on Radio Broadcasting, a royal commission which recommended the creation of a national broadcaster.
Following the defeat of King's government Spry and Alan Plaunt formed the Canadian Radio League to rally support behind the Aird Commission's recommendation, arguing that it amounted to a choice between two alternatives, "the State or the United States". The League mobilized public opinion in both English- and French-speaking regions of Canada, and convinced the Conservative government of R.B. Bennett to form the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, which later became the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
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