David Suzuki at 90: On Canada, Climate and the Future

2026 marks a milestone for David Suzuki. In March the renowned Canadian geneticist, academic, author and environmentalist turned 90 years old.  An iconic broadcaster, and uncompromising advocate for the sustainable future of the planet, he’s been Canada’s most charismatic and influential public intellectual on television and radio for the better part of 6 decades.

 

He and his family were forced to endure the hardship and humiliation of spending the Second World War in an internment camp along with tens of thousands of their fellow Japanese Canadians.

Suzuki first gained prominence in the early 1960s as a hotshot Canadian-born but American trained scientist.  He eventually made the transition to become one of Canada’s most articulate and passionate science communicators.

In the early 1970s he became a broadcasting superstar as the host of the CBC Radio science program Quirks and Quarks and then CBC television’s The Nature of Things which he hosted for 44 years.

For decades David Suzuki has been unwavering in his commitment to speaking out about the unsustainability of the impact of human beings on the biosphere. He’s urged politicians and citizens, alike to act to preserve the earth for the generations to come .

While Suzuki has been called one of the greatest Canadians in history, he’s also been pilloried and vilified by his critics who have labelled him Dr. Doom and Gloom.  An enemy of progress.  An economic saboteur dedicated to destroying the country’s lucrative logging and fossil fuel industries. Suzuki insists that the ongoing reckless development of these extractive industries imperils our collective future as a species.

For a private person David Suzuki has lived a very public life. His most recent book is a memoir in which he reflects on his remarkable journey. It’s called Lessons From a Lifetime: Ninety Years of Inspiration and Activism.