Bio
Michael Decter never had a chance of escaping his fate to become a storyteller. His Irish mother, Una, was an excellent storyteller. His Russian Jewish father, Percy, was also a wonderful teller of tales.
Even the home he grew up in, at 97 Ash Street in the City of Winnipeg in the Province of Manitoba in the country of Canada, had stories. At various times, 97 Ash Street was owned by Vaudeville impresarios the Gee brothers, during which time it housed Paul Robeson and other Black entertainers who were denied rooms at Winnipeg hotels. Later, when Dr. Moody owned the house, his daughter, Maryon, met and married a dashing diplomat named Lester Bowles Pearson, who would win the Nobel Prize for Peace and go on to become Canada’s 14th Prime Minister. Later, when Una was active in Voice of Women and the peace movement in the 1960’s, the Mayor of Moscow even stayed. The house itself had generations of stories to tell.
In the preface to his storytelling destiny, Michael has managed three careers – one in Government, one in Consulting and one in Finance. He has also served on many governance boards in the health and cultural sectors. Along the way, he has written and published eight non-fiction books, several including storytelling within a factual narrative.
Michael has enjoyed his forty-year career in the public and private sectors. Starting in the Manitoba public service in the early 1970s, he rose to Cabinet Secretary (1981-1985). A career in consulting with KPMG followed, and then a return to public service in 1991 as Deputy Minister of Health in Ontario. His continuing interest in health has led him to accept the Chair role in a series of national health organizations, including the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the Health Council of Canada, Saint Elizabeth Health Care and most recently Medavie Blue Cross. Since January 2014, he has served as a Director of Blue Cross Life. During his health care years, Michael wrote two books and co-authored a third:
Healing Medicare: Managing Health System Change – The Canadian Way (1994)
Four Strong Winds – Understanding the Growing Challenges to Health Care (2000)
Navigating Canada’s Health Care, with co-author Francesca Grosso (2006)
Since 1998, Michael has led the investment firm LDIC Inc. as its President, and CEO. He has continued to serve on many health and public policy boards, remained active as a speaker and lecturer on health policy, and written of three books on investing:
Michael Decter’s Million Dollar Strategy 1998
Building Your Wealth One Share at a Time with Dividend Reinvestment Plans (2001)
Ten Good Reasons to Invest in Canada (2008)
Michael is also a Trustee of the Auto Sector Healthcare Trust, which manages the health care benefits for auto workers of GM Canada and Chrysler Canada.
In 2004, Michael was awarded The Order of Canada for his contributions to health care.
In 2013, Michael was named Chancellor of Brandon University.
In 2018 Michael was appointed to the Premiers Council on Improving Medicare and Ending Hallway Medicine.
Tales From the Backroom (2012) and Percy: A Memoir (2002) marked the beginning of Michael’s journey from governance, health and investing to storyteller. Tales From the Backroom allowed Michael to tell the stories from his time in government and around politics. Percy was a memoir of Michael’s father and the stories of their shared time together.
In October 2022, Cormorant Books will publish Michael’s debut novel, Shadow Life.
Thus beginning a new storytelling chapter in Michael’s life.
