Stephen Owen had a lifelong connection to UBC. He started and ended his professional life at the Vancouver campus, in a remarkable career in public service spanning 50 years.

Stephen obtained his undergraduate and law degrees at UBC. Soon after, he spent two years teaching in Nigeria for the Canadian University Services Overseas with his wife, Diane Koerner Owen. He then earned a Master of International Law from the University of London in the UK. When Stephen and Diane returned to Vancouver, he became a legal aid lawyer in Surrey and later served as Executive Director of the Legal Services Society of BC.

After another year abroad with Diane and their sons Taylor and Jason— this time earning an MBA from the University of Geneva— Stephen was called home again to become British Columbia’s Ombudsman (1986-1992). In 1992, then-premier Mike Harcourt appointed Stephen to lead the newly established Commission on Resources and the Environment (1992-1995). This was a historic public and multi-stakeholder consultation with a mandate to redraft land use planning for the province at a time of intense tension between the environmental movement and the province’s resource sector.

Following the completion of the Commission on Resources and the Environment, Stephen served as the Deputy Attorney General for BC (1995-1997), again playing a mediating role through the Gustafsen Lake standoff. His expertise in conflict negotiation and mediation, combined with his unshakably optimistic spirit, took him to difficult projects around the world. This included investigating the Canadian military killing of a Somali teen in Mogadishu, examining police killings in South Africa, the former Yugoslavia and Belfast for Amnesty International, and post-genocide conflict resolution in Cambodia.

In 2000, Stephen entered federal politics, winning the Vancouver Quadra riding for the Liberal Party, which he held for seven years and three elections. While a Member of Parliament (2000-2007), Stephen served in both Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin’s cabinets as Minister of Western Economic Diversification, Minister of State for Sport and Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

Stephen left politics in 2007 to return once more to UBC, where he served as Vice-President of External, Legal and Community Relations (2007-2012).

Your gift to the Stephen Owen Memorial Award in Public Policy and Global Affairs endowment will celebrate Stephen’s lifelong commitment to the public good and his unwavering belief in the power and meaning of public service. The endowment was initiated through a very generous donation from Dr. Yosef Wosk, OC, OBC, along with additional gifts from family, friends and colleagues, in memory of Stephen Owen, KC, PC (1948–2023).

The Stephen Owen Memorial Award in Public Policy and Global Affairs will recognize second-year graduate students in the Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs program who demonstrate a commitment to public service through community engagement, a spirit of challenging and advancing social justice initiatives and a commitment to pursuing a career in public service.