Re: In Memoriam, Issue #4-2010, p. 12

Peter M. Leslie was hands-down the best professor I had during my four years at Queen’s. I learned more from him about Canadian economic policy than I did in all of my other undergraduate courses combined. He was so masterful at conducting seminars you didn’t want them to end. At that time he was a very busy man, very much in demand in ­Ottawa and Brussels, but what his students offered in vapor he always poured back upon them in flood. Occasionally he would even explore more complex concepts over a drink with his students.

After I graduated, Prof. Leslie wrote the kindest “lies” about me and my ­academic abilities to help me secure a seat in graduate school. To this day I refer ­often to a dog-eared copy of his 1987 book Federal State, National Economy (U of T Press) that, like its author, has ­always offered sound guidance.