Michael Barkusky has a background in economics, finance and accounting. He earned a BA (Honours) degree in economics at the University of Cape Town in 1977, an MBA (with specialization in Accounting, Finance and Information Systems) at UBC in 1982 and the CGA designation in 1985 (which became the CPA, CGA designation with the unification of the Canadian accounting profession, in 2015). He has had an almost-lifelong interest in politics and international relations and is particularly passionate about the ecological-economics approach to economic analysis and economic policy. He has over 40 years of work experience mostly in the private, for-profit sector, but including significant periods in the voluntary not-for-profit sector involving intensive interaction with the public (governmental) sector and even some time in the public sector itself.

Michael’s private sector work has extended from manufacturing and retailing through to professional services. He was the controller at a large downtown Vancouver law firm from 1983 to 1993 and has been primarily self-employed continuously from 1993 until the present, through his own firm, which was a registered professional accounting public practice from 1993 until the summer of 2023, and which continues in existence now as a more general, financial management consulting firm. He has also served on numerous non-profit society boards, both grassroots and more established, primarily in the environmental education and advocacy sector, and most commonly as treasurer, as well as on the boards of two small, for-profit business corporations.

He has lived in Canada since 1980 and has run for public elected office on three occasions, once federally and twice provincially. His earliest political involvement was in South Africa between 1970 and 1977 during which time he was involved with youth and student organizations, and a political party that firmly opposed the then-prevailing apartheid policies of the Government of the country at the time.  Michael has also been involved in post-secondary teaching in BC in some manner since 2004, and has taught at Langara College, BCIT and SFU, and guest lectured at UBC, SFU and at meetings of certain professional associations at various times over the last 19 years. He has also taught a course in ecological economics to Bachelor of Business Administration Students at BCIT. He was invited to design this course in late 2021 and has taught it continuously since 2022.  His dedication to making the world a better place for all is evidenced by his decades-plus work in the non-profit sector.