Peter C. Newman


Peter C. Newman

Newman in 2010
Newman in 2010
BornPetr Karel Neumann
(1929-05-10)May 10, 1929
Vienna, Austria
DiedSeptember 7, 2023(2023-09-07) (aged 94)
Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • editor
EducationUpper Canada College
Alma materUniversity of Toronto (BA)
Subject
  • Canadian politics
  • Canadian history
Spouses
[1]
Patricia McKee
(divorced)
(m. 1959, div. 1976)
Camilla Jane Turner
(m. 1979, div. 1990)
[2]
Alvy Bjorklund
(m. 1996)
Children2 daughters and 2 stepdaughters
Military career
AllegianceCanada
Service/branchRoyal Canadian Naval Reserve
Years of service1947–1997
RankCaptain(N)
AwardsCompanion of the Order of Canada
Canadian Forces' Decoration

Peter Charles Newman CC CD (born Petr 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 from Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) to Paul Martin (2003–2006). His three-volume series on The Canadian Establishment helped set new standards for business reporting, while his three-volume history of the Hudson's Bay Company provided a comprehensive account of Canada's early beginnings as an international fur-trading nation.[2][1]

Newman served as editor-in-chief at both the Toronto Star and Maclean's, the latter of which he transformed from a money-losing monthly magazine into a lively newsweekly that published some of the country's most talented journalists.[4]

His half-dozen literary awards include the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize for his 2004 autobiography Here Be Dragons: Telling Tales of People, Passion and Power.[5]

In 1990, when Newman was promoted to the rank of Companion 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]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Globe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Elspeth Cameron (March 4, 2015). "Peter Charles Newman". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  3. ^ Roberts, Sam (September 15, 2023). "Peter C. Newman, 94, Canadian Maverick And Journalist Who Skewered the Elite". The New York Times. p. A21. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  4. ^ .Allan Woods. "Peter C. Newman, who chronicled and skewered Canada's elites, was as quick with a quip as he was prolific with a pen". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  5. ^ "Peter C. Newman". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  6. ^ "Mr. Peter Charles Newman". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved September 7, 2023.