Charlie Angus

A Strong Voice for the North - Charlie Angus

"I first met Chuck (Charlie) Angus on his first tour of Western Canada. If I hadn't experienced Chuck Angus I would have had to invent him just for my own peace of mind because, in a world full of prima donnas and poseurs, he stands out as the real thing." - Les Siemieniuk, National CBC radio, 1999

Charlie Angus is well-known across Canada as a passionate spokesman for Northern Ontario. As a writer, broadcaster and musician he has championed the resource-dependent communities of the north. The late Peter Gzowski referred to Charlie Angus as the "bard of Northern Ontario."

Angus was born in Timmins, Ontario in November, 1962. His family moved to Toronto at the beginning of his teen years. During the 1980s, Charlie and his wife Brit Griffin ran a house for homeless people in downtown Toronto. In 1990 they moved to Cobalt, Ontario to raise their children.

Angus has been active in a number of musical projects -including the nationally-recognized Grievous Angels. The group has garnered a number of Juno nominations and other awards.

In 1999 he was honoured by Sudbury's Festival Boreal with a special award for his "Outstanding Contribution to Northern Culture."

He has been a regular contributor to CBC, TVO and national newspapers. He has published three books on the mining culture of the north and has just finished his fourth work: The Flying Father:

The life and times of Father Les Costello. The book will be published in the coming year by Novalis Publishing.

Angus has worked for the last three years with northern First Nations in neighbouring Quebec on issues of community development and economic opportunities.

Charlie Angus was a major organizer in the fight to stop the Adams Mine dump. He is committed to preserving the vitality of northern resource-based communities. Angus says his decision to enter Federal politics stems from his desire to stop the continual erosion of Northern Ontario's voice on the national scene.

Charlie Angus has been married for 18 years to his wife Brit Griffin. They have three daughters: Mariah 16, Siobhan 14 and Lola 6.