Otto Jelinek

Otto John Jelinek — born Otakar Jelínek on May 20, 1940, in Prague, Czechoslovakia — lived one of the most extraordinary lives in Canadian public history: refugee boy, world figure skating champion, federal cabinet minister, and finally ambassador to the country he had been forced to flee as a child. When the Communist government nationalized his father's cork manufacturing business in 1948, the Jelinek family escaped Czechoslovakia, moving first to Switzerland and then settling in Oakville, Ontario, in 1952. It was there that Otto first laced up skates — initially just to keep his younger sister Maria company. What began as fraternal loyalty quickly became destiny. The two trained with fierce dedication, and within a few years they had become one of Canada's most celebrated pairs. They won the Canadian Junior title in 1955, earned three World Championship bronze and silver medals between 1957 and 1960, represented Canada at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, and captured both the North American and Canadian national titles in 1961. Their crowning moment came in 1962 when the World Figure Skating Championships were held in Prague — the very city from which they had fled. Before a thunderous crowd of 19,000, Otto and Maria skated to Smetana and Dvořák and brought home the gold medal. They were inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame that same year. Following their amateur triumph, Otto and Maria toured professionally with the Ice Capades for seven years while Otto built a second career as a sports commentator for CTV. He then turned to business, founding Canadian Skate Industries, before entering federal politics in 1972 as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament. He served for 21 years — first for High Park-Humber Valley, then for the Halton riding — and under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney held cabinet portfolios including Minister of State for Fitness and Amateur Sport, Minister of Multiculturalism, Minister of Supply and Services, and Minister of National Revenue, where he implemented the landmark GST. Colleagues remembered him for steadiness, candour, and a preference for competence over theatrics. After leaving Parliament in 1993, Otto relocated to Prague, where he founded Jelinek International and chaired Deloitte and Touche for Central Europe for over a decade. In 2013, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed him Canada's Ambassador to the Czech Republic — a circle closed with quiet grace. Otto married Leata Bennett in 1974, and together they raised two sons, Misha and Jamie. Warm, witty, and an irresistible storyteller — known to embellish a tale for maximum effect — he was at his happiest hosting friends and family by Lake Ontario. He faced nearly 20 years of Parkinson's disease and three major back surgeries with the same determination that had carried him across the ice of Štvanice stadium as a boy. He passed peacefully on October 5, 2026, at Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga, surrounded by his family. He was 86. He is survived by his wife Leata, his sons Misha and Jamie, and his siblings Richard, Maria, and Henry.