 He was a newspaper publisher, a Liberal MLA from 1924–1928, co-founder of the Non-Partisan Association in 1937, temperance advocate, one of the first directors on the board of governors that oversaw the new Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and a Canadian ambassador.He fought in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II.Odlum was born in Cobourg, Ontario, the son of Edward Odlum (1850–1935), a historian and supporter of British Israelism.