Michael Gardener

Early life Gardener was born in 1930 in New Malden, Surrey, to George Edwin Gardener and May Eleanor Gardener . Although his family was non-religious, Gardener was inspired as a boy by the life of David Livingstone as a missionary in Africa. However, Gardener decided he wanted to serve in a cold environment.

He was educated at the University of Reading, where he graduated BA in 1953 in psychology, and then the same year joined Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, to train for the priesthood.

Ministry in Canada Gardener was ordained a deacon of the Church of England in the Diocese of Southwark on Trinity Sunday, 1955. Gardener arrived in Lake Harbour on the sealift and immediately began work, including preaching in Inuktitut without translation. and returned to Lake Harbour for five years. Among his pupils was Andrew Atagotaaluk, who became the first Inuk to serve as bishop of the Arctic, along with future suffragan bishop Ben Arreak, Jonas Allooloo and James Nashak, all of whom with Atagotaaluk translated the Bible into Inuktitut.

"My wish was always to do myself out of job," Gardener told the Anglican Journal late in life. "When I first arrived, there were no ordained Inuit clergy in the North, but now there are more Inuit clergy than non-Inuit."

Later life The Gardeners were retired in Iqaluit for several years, where they remained active in ministry. Gardener, along with other non-Inuit residents of Nunavut, had stayed at Larga Baffin before, but the home said there was no longer capacity for non-Inuit guests. While the bill was later cut in half, the action outraged some residents of Iqaluit, who expressed concerns that the Nunavut government—which funds stays at Larga Baffin through the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program for Inuit who are beneficiaries of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement—discriminated against Gardener on the basis of his race. Former Commissioner of Nunavut Piita Irniq said that the action "sounds to me like discriminating against non-Inuit." After the uproar, however, the government said Gardener would not have to pay the bill, finding other sources to cover the expenses.

Awards Gardener was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2007 for services to northern communities. He was one of the first three people to be inducted into the Order of Nunavut in 2011. Their children remained in the Arctic and became active in civic leadership. Their daughter Pat Gardener Angnakak became a member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, as did his son-in-law David Akeeagok, who also served as deputy premier. His grandson P.J. Akeeagok was premier of Nunavut from 2021 to 2025.