Mat Nelson, a PhD candidate in political science at Carleton, died on Jan. 17, 2017 after a long battle with illness. Nelson was 35.
Nelson attended Trent University for his undergrad, and completed his master’s at Carleton before entering the PhD program, according to Samantha Ponting, a close friend of his.
Carleton’s political science department released an obituary for Nelson, stating: “His work enriched scholarship on the politics of security and suggested new avenues in the fight for social justice.”
Ponting, who worked with Nelson at The Leveller, a local left-leaning campus newspaper, said he was incredibly humble.
“He built connections with others effortlessly through his warm personality, openness, humour, and down-to-earth working-class swagger,” Ponting said.
Nelson began his time with The Leveller in 2009, writing about union politics, the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan, and Palestinian rights, among other topics.
Nelson was also part of the editorial board for two volumes of The Leveller between 2010 and 2012, and played an integral role in the production of the newspaper.
He also contributed to campus politics and social justice in Ottawa as a co-president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4600, and as a worker’s rights activist.
Ponting said Nelson was a social justice warrior, and a dedicated person who believed in fighting capitalism, exploitation, and oppression.
Andy Crosby, one of Nelson’s friends, said that some of his fondest memories of Nelson are of working on The Leveller together, spending sleepless nights editing, rewriting, and debating content for new volumes.
Crosby said that publishing a paper with Nelson was indescribable in the joy that it brought to those around him.
“We shared a very similar politics . . . based on mutual aid, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, and anti-oppression,” Crosby said. “Although there are many that share these similar types of political affinities, Mat and I also had similar musical tastes . . . and we were both musicians. He was a drummer.”
Erin Seatter, another close friend of Nelson’s from The Leveller, said she first connected with Nelson when they were graduate students.
“I was having a difficult time at work, watching the organization disintegrate and my colleagues get treated disrespectfully,” Seatter said, describing her favourite memory of Nelson. “As an escape, I turned to Star Trek: The Next Generation, a show that Mat and I used to watch together. I told him I had started up with it again, and he sent me a little phaser to help me cope with what was happening at work. Phasers are commonly used on Star Trek to stun adversaries, so the idea was I could use it as a defence against the big baddies.”
In a post on their website, The Leveller said it would be dedicating their latest issue to Nelson, “to celebrate his life and his accomplishments.”
There will be a celebration of Nelson’s life at 1 p.m. on Jan. 28, at the Wooler Friends Meeting House, in Brighton, Ont.
– File photo
