Mel Watkins

Mel Watkins
Born
Melville Henry Watkins

(1932-05-15)May 15, 1932
DiedApril 2, 2020(2020-04-02) (aged 87)
Ottawa, Ontario
Known forCofounding the Waffle,
Watkins Report
Political partyNew Democratic Party
SpouseKelly Crichton
Academic background
Influences
Academic work
Discipline
Sub-disciplinePolitical economy
School or tradition
InstitutionsUniversity College, Toronto
InfluencedJames Laxer, Peter Gzowski

Melville Henry Watkins (May 15, 1932 April 2, 2020) was a Canadian political economist and activist and professor emeritus of economics and political science at the University of Toronto. He was a founder and co-leader with James Laxer of the Waffle, a left-wing political formation within the New Democratic Party that advocated an "independent socialist Canada" and Canadian nationalism. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2019.