A key figure in the fight against Western alienation is among three Calgarians appointed to the Order of Canada.

In a Monday announcement, David K. Elton was named as member of the order, as was public-health advocate Norman Campbell and orthopedic researcher Cyril Basil Frank.

“I was very surprised,” said Elton, who got a call from the Governor General’s office in early June. “I have a great deal of gratitude for all of the people I’ve worked with over the years; none of us do any of these things all by ourselves.”

Elton is a professor emeritus with the University of Lethbridge, where he was a faculty member for 27 years. He was president of the Calgary-based think-tank Canada West Foundation from 1980 to 1997, when he was prominent for his presentations and newspaper columns.

Elton now says Western sentiments of isolation from Ottawa are virtually non-existent because of Alberta’s huge role in the national economy.

“That issue has simply disappeared. It’s just no longer relevant,” said Elton.

He says Western Canada now looks beyond its borders, especially as the energy industry focuses on export markets. “We see ourselves much more as part of the international community than as part of North America,” he said

Elton now serves as president of the Max Bell Foundation, which gives charitable grants to projects dedicated to health, education and the environment.

“I’m very proud to be part of the group, and honoured and humbled,” he said.

Norman Campbell also joins the order while holding the Heart and Stroke Foundation chair in Hypertension Prevention and Control. Based at the Foothills Hospital, Campbell is now leading an effort to cut the overuse of salt, which is estimated to cost Canada’s health-care system $4 billion annually.

Cyril Basil Frank joins the order after discoveries with the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute. The group found cost-effective ways to treat osteoarthritis, reducing Alberta waiting times for hip and knee replacements.

drobertson@calgaryherald.com

Twitter.com/dcrHerald