Stephen Lewis and David Suzuki, humanitarian and environmental icons, have a grand friendship both intense and profound. I would say it even has aspects of friendship in the classical Greek sense.

Aristotle thought true friendship existed only between virtuous men, who loved each other precisely for their virtue. It is intellectual and moral goodness, the philosopher argued, that is ultimately worthy of affection. Lewis and Suzuki have this goodness in abundance.

In discussions I've had with Suzuki over the years — for almost a decade I worked at his foundation — and through more recent chats with Lewis, I've come to understand something about their relationship. It's a moving, and oftentimes humorous, story.

The two men, in their late 80s now, make connection a priority. Though living in opposite corners of the country — Lewis in Toronto, Suzuki in Vancouver — they speak weekly during Zoom calls. Topics range from current affairs, including events in Ukraine and Ethiopia, to stories of Lewis' career and youth. Suzuki enjoys tales of his friend's travels in Africa, where the former diplomat journeyed as a young man and United Nations envoy on AIDS. The pair have had over 20 online conversations, with more planned.

Sitting at the dining room table in his Forest Hill home, Lewis says friendships have been central to his life. And some were with men whose politics were importantly different from his own. He's a devout socialist yet befriended people — including Tory premier Bill Davis, former president Bill Clinton and former prime minister Brian Mulroney — whose views were decidedly un-socialist.

Mulroney invited him to be Canada's ambassador to the UN and "saved my skin" when the diplomat got into bureaucratic trouble. Their bond was long-standing and affectionate. As Lewis was coming to the end of his ambassadorship in 1988, the PM invited him to chair a landmark conference on climate change: "Mulroney wanted me to go out on a high note … He wanted to give me something that would be memorable and worthy. And that was just simply an example of our friendship and his kindness."

The two men spoke just before Mulroney's death; the latter was shuttling from Florida to New York in search of cancer treatment. In one of their last calls, he told Lewis he loved him. Lewis said the feeling was mutual.

In his book, Unfinished Journey: The Lewis........

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