Peter C. Newman | |
|---|---|
 Newman in 2010 | |
| Born | Petr Karel Neumann (1929-05-10)May 10, 1929 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | September 7, 2023(2023-09-07) (aged 94) Belleville, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation |
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| Education | Upper Canada College |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto (BA) |
| Subject |
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| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 daughters and 2 adopted daughters |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Service | Royal Canadian Naval Reserve |
| Years of service | 1947–1997 |
| Rank | Captain(N) |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of Canada Canadian Forces' Decoration |
Peter Charles NewmanCC CD (bornPetr Karel Neumann;[2][3] May 10, 1929 – September 7, 2023) was a Canadian journalist, editor and author. He interviewed and wrote about every Canadian prime minister fromLouis St. Laurent (1948–1957) toPaul Martin (2003–2006). His three-volume series onThe Canadian Establishment helped set new standards for business reporting, while his three-volume history of theHudson's Bay Company provided a comprehensive account of Canada's early beginnings as aninternational fur-trading nation.[2][1]
Newman served as editor-in-chief at both theToronto Star andMaclean's, the latter of which he transformed from a money-losing monthly magazine into a livelynewsweekly that published some of the country's most talented journalists.[4]
His half-dozen literary awards include theDrainie-Taylor Biography Prize for his 2004 autobiographyHere Be Dragons: Telling Tales of People, Passion and Power.[5]
In 1990, when Newman was promoted to the rank ofCompanion of the Order of Canada, his citation read: "Chronicler of our past and interpreter of our present, his popular histories and biographies continue to capture the imagination, bringing to life people, places and events that have shaped our great country."[6]
Born inVienna,Austria, in 1929, Newman immigrated to Canada fromNazi-occupiedCzechoslovakia Oskar Karel Neumann,[7] a wealthy self-made factory owner. The family escaped German dive bombing atBiarritz in France as they left Europe and U-boat attacks on their convoy before they arrived atPier 21 inHalifax in September 1940.[1] He was educated atUpper Canada College, where he was a member ofSeaton's House, and theUniversity of Toronto.[3] Newman joined theRoyal Canadian Navy reserve in 1947 as an ordinary seaman and later reached the rank ofcaptain, having served in the naval reserve for 50 years.[3]
Newman was a reporter for theFinancial Post, served as editor of theToronto Star, and was the long-time editor ofMaclean's, stewarding its transformation from a general interest magazine to a weeklynews magazine.[3] In 1978 he was made anOfficer of the Order of Canada (OC), and was promoted to the rank ofCompanion (CC) in 1990.[8]
Newman was widely respected for his intimate knowledge and understanding of Canadian business leaders. Newman made his name as an author in the 1960s with the publication of two books:Renegade in Power: The Diefenbaker Years (1963), a study of the government ofJohn Diefenbaker that some say helped destroy the Tory leader's career, andThe Distemper of Our Times (1968), an examination of Canadian politics during the era ofLester Pearson.[3] His 1975 bookThe Canadian Establishment was widely acclaimed.[3]
On September 12, 2005, Newman announced the publication ofThe Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions of a Prime Minister, a biography of former Canadian prime ministerBrian Mulroney, whom he considered a friend.[3] The information released to the press contained several surprising revelations, including an allegation by Mulroney thatPierre Trudeau's contribution "was not to build Canada but to destroy it." Later the same day, Mulroney issued a press release stating he felt "devastated" and "betrayed" by the publication of information he had understood to be confidential. Shortly after the publication ofThe Secret Mulroney Tapes, both Mulroney andConrad Black filed suit against Newman. The lawsuit was settled the following year.[3]
In 1973, Newman described his "ideological swing… away from a blind acceptance of the 'small-l' liberalism of the Fifties to a strongly-feltnationalism."[9]
He was appointed visiting professor of distinction at Ryerson University in Toronto in December 2009. In October 2012, he joined the faculty of the Royal Military College of Canada as its first journalist-in-residence. In this role, he was involved with RMC's graduate and undergraduate programs and gave lectures on topics relating to business, politics and history.[citation needed]
Newman was married four times, once to writerChristina McCall. He lived with his fourth wife, Alvy (Bjorklund) Newman, inBelleville, Ontario.[10] He died from complications ofParkinson's disease and a stroke at a hospital in Belleville on September 7, 2023, at the age of 94.[1]
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[In 1973] Newman "described his love affair with Canada" as follows: "Perhaps my real ideological swing has been away from a blind acceptance of the 'small-l' liberalism of the Fifties to a strongly-felt nationalism."
