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Journalists turned Politicians

By 1278-9
  • William Lyon Mackenzie

    William Lyon Mackenzie
    William Lyon Mackenzie was born in 1795, but it wasn't until 1824 when he made his aspirations for political life known. Before representing the riding of York in Upper Canada, and then becoming the mayor of Toronto, Mackenzie wrote for many newspapers. Some of these papers included The Gazette, the Montreal Herald and the Chronicle.
  • Joseph Howe

    Joseph Howe
    In 1827, Joseph Howe took over the NovaScotian newspaper. He had a long career in journalism before becoming a Reform politician.
  • George Brown

    George Brown
    Born in Scotland in 1818, George Brown founded and wrote for many newspapers before and after his political career. in 1843 he founded and wrote for The Banner, a weekly presbyterian paper. Then he wrote for and was the editor for The Globe which was a political journal. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the County of Kent as a Reform party member.
  • Joey Smallwood

    Joey Smallwood
    Longtime Liberal Premier of Newfoundland. This is the date that Smallwood gave a speech urging Newfoundland to enter into confederation. Before he entered into politics, Smallwood worked as a reporter and for radio. He also owned and operated several newspapers, both in Newfoundland and in New York.
  • Pierre Bourgault

    Pierre Bourgault
    It was in the 1960's that Bourgault began to support Quebec's secession from the rest of Canada. He became the president of the party Rassemblement pour L'independence Nationale. Before this political time in his life he was a journalist for the Montreal paper, La Presse. He also worked for the french-speaking sector of CBC.
  • Claude Ryan

    Claude Ryan
    Former Liberal Party leader. He was against the seperation of Quebec from Canada. Previous to his political career, Ryan edited and wrote for various papers. picture from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/ryan_claude/
  • Ralph Klein

    Ralph Klein
    1992 was the year when Ralph Klein became the Conservative Premier of Alberta. He would remain the Premier of the province until 2006. Before entering politics, Klein had an 11 year career with CFCN television, which was an affiliate of CTV.
  • John Godfrey

    John Godfrey
    In 1993, Godfrey was elected as a Liberal MP for the riding of Don Valley West. This was his first major appearance in politics. He also served as a Liberal federal minister. He was a journalist and a professor before entering politics.
  • Shelia Copps

    Shelia Copps
    Sheila Copps was the first female to become Deputy Prime Minister. She accepted this position in 1993. She is a part of the Liberal Party of Canada. Before starting her political career, Sheila was a broadcaster, journalist and political commentator.
  • Dave Wilson

    Dave Wilson
    Dave Wilson was elected to the Nova Scotia house of Assembly in 1999 as a Liberal. Before entering into politics, he hosted a political radio show, called Talk Back.
  • Adrienne Clarkson

    Adrienne Clarkson
    October 1999 - Adrienne Clarkson became Governor General of Canada. Before her appointment, Clarkson was a producer and broadcaster for CBC. She also wrote for magazines.
  • Garth Turner

    Garth Turner
    October 2006 - Garth Turner was removed from the Conservative Caucus for breaching caucus confidentiality.
    "Did I know the potential consequences of speaking my mind, or sticking with the principles that brought me to this cold hill? Yeah, I did." (Sheeple, 2009). Turner was a business journalist before becoming an MP.
  • Peter Kent

    Peter Kent
    Peter Kent was elected in 2008 as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Thornhill, Toronto. He is the current Federal Minister. Before entering politics, he worked as a journalist for more than 40 years. He worked as an anchorman, writer, producer and foreign correspondent.
  • Micheal Ignatieff

    Micheal Ignatieff
    Ignatieff became the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in 2008. Before his stint in politics he was an author, professor, as well as a journalist. He was a television and radio broadcaster and a war correspondent for the BBC and the CBC. He also worked on several BBC documentaries.
  • Darrell Dexter

    Darrell Dexter
    Darrell Dexter, former Lawyer, navy officer, and journalist, became the NDP Premier of Nova Scotia in 2009. He worked at the Halifax Daily News as a reporter.
  • John Williamson

    John Williamson
    Elected NDP MP of New Brunswick South West, Willaimson used to be an editorial writer for The National Post.
  • Charlie Angus

    Charlie Angus
    Elected NDP MP for Timmins - James Bay riding in the 2011 general election, Angus enjoyed a previous career as a broadcaster.