Michael James Audain, OC OBC (born July 31, 1937) is a Canadian home builder, philanthropist and art collector.

He is the Chairman and major shareholder of the privately held Polygon Homes Ltd., one of the largest multi-family builders in British Columbia.

[citation needed] Audain attended numerous schools in the United Kingdom due to frequent moves by his split-up family during World War II.

In terms of higher education, Audain attended the University of Lyon in France, where he acquired a Diploma in French Civilization in 1959.

Initially, Audain built residential communities for housing cooperatives and non-profit organizations, but in 1983 he started building townhomes and apartments for the market.

After Genest's death as a result of a highway accident in 2002, Neil Chrystal[7] became a major shareholder in the company and assumed the title of President and CEO.

[19] Audain has also commissioned works from a number of British Columbia artists (personally or through Polygon) to allow them to develop their talents, including: James Hart, Robert Davidson, Xwalacktun, Susan Point, Paul Wong, Marianne Nicolson, and Jay Simeon to name a few.

[20] Less than a year after his visit, the 56,000 square foot Audain Art Museum building designed by Patkau Architects commenced construction on land donated by the Resort Municipality of Whistler for a 199-year lease.

Adjacent to Whistler Village, the Museum officially opened to the public on March 12, 2016[21][22][23][24] and houses a portion of the Audain Collection, a gallery dedicated to 15 works by E. J. Hughes,[25] as well as offers spaces for special exhibitions.

[29] October 7, 2023 marked the centenary of Riopelle’s birth and the Foundation has collaborated for over an entire year with cultural and government partners to provide a multitude of opportunities to acknowledge his contribution to the visual arts.

[67] In 2004, the annual Audain Prize for the Visual Arts was established to recognize the outstanding achievements of British Columbia's senior artists.

It commissioned a Board of Enquiry to travel the province of British Columbia in the fall of 2016 to seek information from individuals and organizations that have an interest in the grizzly bear.

The report summarizing the findings of this Enquiry was submitted to the Provincial Government in March 2017 led to the termination of the infamous Grizzly Bear Trophy Hunt.

In the summer of 1961, he was a Freedom Rider in the United States south, and was sentenced in Jackson, Mississippi to a jail term and a $250 fine.

[74][75][76][77][78] Together with a group of University of British Columbia faculty, Audain was instrumental in founding the BC Civil Liberties Association in 1962.