In B.C., politics can be highly partisan. As a senior civil servant and a federal Liberal cabinet minister, Stephen Owen was one of the few individuals who appeared to enjoy widespread regard.
Owen earned an MBA from the University of Geneva, a law degree from the University of British Columbia, and a master’s in international law from the University of London.
He served as the provincial ombudsman for six years, as the deputy attorney general in the provincial civil service, and in the federal cabinet in three different ministries: Public Works and Government Services, Western Economic Diversification, and Minister of State for Sport. His resume is exceptional.
He also taught in Nigeria, practiced law for a while, and served as the executive director of the Legal Services Society of British Columbia.
Who is Stephen Owen? Former federal cabinet minister and provincial civil servant dies at 74
Owen passed away on Thursday at Vancouver’s prestigious Point Grey hospital. He was 74.
His son, Taylor Owen, stated that his father has had dementia for a number of years. It was merely dementia in its terminal stages.
On September 8, 1948, Stephen Douglas Owen was born in Vancouver. His uncle Walter served as lieutenant-governor of British Columbia in the 1970s, and his cousin Philip Owen presided as mayor of Vancouver from 1993 to 2002.