Alvin Shayne Cader

My dear brother❤️‍🩹I was so looking forward to wishing you a happy 77th birthday on the 30th of September💔Your memory is eternal and I know we will see each other on the other side🙏❤️‍🩹😇Bless you my dear brother🙏💯

Alvin’s one of a kind presence is unforgettable. His visits to my desk in the CBC parliamentary bureau always came with some unexpected flamboyance that more often than not ended with laughter. He vibrated joy and, let’s be honest, that allowed him to say and do things no one else could get away with. When I told Alvin I was pregnant, he dropped to his knees and kissed my belly!!!! An authentic, if unorthodox , expression of happiness for me. His genuine interest in people and what mattered to them made him a strong journalist who made all of us who worked with him better. To his family, I am so sorry for your loss. May his memory be a blessing.

I am saddened to hear of the passing of a dear friend. Sincere condolences to Nadia and the family, your loss must be immesurable. Alvin was generous to a fault… when I returned to Montreal after the end of a relationship, he and Nadia opened their home to me. It’s what friends do. And his sense of humour was legendary, he knew how to break the stress after a long tense day in the newsroom. There are few friendships that mark you for a lifetime, and I am profoundly grateful to have been his friend. He was truly one of a kind, and the world feels a little dimmer without his laughter. My thoughts, love, and prayers are with you, Nadia, Jordan, Kahlil, and all your family.

Dear Nadia. Joan and I were shocked to hear of Alvin’s untimely passing. As you know , Alvin and I were friends and colleagues, and even had the opportunity to teach together.
Unfortunately we will be in Toronto this weekend and will be unable to attend the celebration of life ceremony.But I will try to connect with you in the near future.
With sincere condolences
Ian Sadinsky and Joan Bercovitch

Alvin Cader used to joke with clients that our consulting partnership had lasted longer than many marriages. He was right. Like good marriages perhaps opposites attract and mature. Alvin, with his over-the-top enthusiasm played against my straight man conservatism. More than a decade of telling people what they should do in public was not without some private differences between us. Nothing that couldn’t be worked out and smoothed over. And so we did. Together we successfully fought off a legal challenge, built a ´boutiqué business from nothing and served hundreds of satisfied clients. On top of that we had a lot of fun together. I’ll let others recount hilarious anecdotes about Alvie. To me I’ll just remember a man who was my friend and partner at an important career change in both of our lives.

Oh my gosh!! I’m stunned and saddened. I met Alvie in Montreal in 1983. He was among a talented and notoriously cantankerous group of journalists who I admired and was inspired by. I was the new wide eyed sports reporter and he nicknamed me “Richie” for Richie Cunningham of ‘Happy Days’ and you know what, I didn’t mind. It was a sign of affection. Alvin came to our wedding and we remained good pals until our careers went in directions – his to Ottawa, mine to Toronto…and lost touch though there were occasional wishes exchanged here. He was a fine journalist, didn’t tolerate bullshit and loved to laugh. Lynn and I send our deepest sympathies to Nadia and the kids. May he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing. 😔

Alvin was truly a gem. Gone too soon. Sympathies to his family.

Our world is quieter, sadder, emptier and a lot less funny without Alvie’s brilliant and all encompassing life force. How lucky I was to call him my big brother for more than 40 years, and to be enfolded into his beautiful family.

I had the honour and the pleasure of “managing” Alvie. Truth is, he managed all of us with his wit, “sechel”(wisdom), and more intensity than any newsroom might be expected to handle. We called him “Kinetic” Cader because he was truly a man in perpetual motion. Thanks Alvie for the pleasure of working with you. A true mensch!

You could say Alvin was foisted upon me when he showed up at our offices at Transport Canada in the late 1990s after being “recommended” to us by the Minister’s office. Alvin immediately sensed my discomfort (a public servant wanting to avoid any perceived political influence over hiring), but within 20 minutes he had won me over with his sharp wit and authenticity. Thus began a wonderful professional relationship with Alvin as the master storyteller, one of very few people who made my red editing pen redundant. His talent perhaps shone brightest in his captivating booklet called Four Days In September, a first-person account of Transport Canada employees who re-wrote the aviation rules over period of four days following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I never felt prouder of anything in my long public-service career. We shared many great belly laughs together over golf, lunches or when I’d drop by his downtown office to seek his counsel or just chat, all too infrequently it now feels. Alvin embraced and celebrated every aspect of life, no better way for all of us to live in the short time we have. Miss you Alvie!