Dalton Kingsley Camp, (September 11, 1920 – March 18, 2002) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

journalist, politician, political strategist and commentator, and supporter of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

. Although he was never elected to a seat in the

Canadian House of Commons The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicam ...

, he was a prominent and influential politician and a popular commentator for decades. He is a central figure in

Red Toryism A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, most predominantly in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. This philosophy tends to favou ...

Background

Camp was born in

Woodstock, New Brunswick Woodstock is a town in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada on the Saint John River, 103 km upriver from Fredericton at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River. It is near the Canada–United States border and Houlton, Maine and the int ...

. His father was a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

minister whose work took his family to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

and later

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Upon his father's death in 1937, Camp's mother and her children returned to their hometown of Woodstock. Camp soon enrolled in undergraduate studies at

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

, but his time there was interrupted by enlistment in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. After the war, Camp finished his undergraduate studies in the liberal arts at the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Ameri ...

, followed by graduate studies in journalism at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and political science at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. His daughter Cherie Camp has worked as a musician and actress."Singer Cherie Camp makes a pitch for the big time". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', May 12, 1981.

Political involvement

While involved in studies at the University of New Brunswick, Camp worked briefly for the Liberal Party of Canada and its provincial wing, the

New Brunswick Liberal Association The New Brunswick Liberal Association (french: Association libérale du Nouveau-Brunswick), more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal ''Party'' or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major provincial political parties in New ...

. Later, Camp was heavily influenced by his studies at the

, and upon his return to Canada, he sought to distance himself from what he now felt was the arrogance of "Canada's Ruling Party," the Liberals. Camp had some socialist beliefs which attracted him to the Liberal Party, but he was also attracted to the traditions of Canadian conservatism and so he ultimately found a political home within the

Red Tory A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, most predominantly in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. This philosophy tends to fa ...

wing of the

. Living in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

in the 1950s, Camp worked with several

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

firms and through his speaking, organizational, and political abilities was influential during several provincial elections in Canada that saw Progressive Conservative governments elected for the first time in more than a generation. Camp was also instrumental in helping

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electi ...

, the leader of the federal party, win elections in 1957 and 1958 although he personally mistrusted Diefenbaker. After the PC defeat to Lester Pearson's Liberals in 1963, Camp sought to reorganize the party, and he became president of the national party the following year. Faced with evidence that most of the party was unhappy with the Diefenbaker's policies, which were increasingly eccentric and autocratic, Camp led a grassroots campaign within the party for a

leadership review In Canadian politics, a leadership review is a vote held at a political party convention in which delegates decide whether to endorse the incumbent party leader or schedule a leadership convention to elect a new leader. In most parties at present, ...

. After the decision was made to have a leadership convention in 1967, Camp left the presidency of the party and briefly considered campaigning for leadership of the party, but when Robert Stanfield decided to run, Camp lent his support to Stanfield's campaign. Camp ran as a candidate for Parliament in the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

and 1968 elections, but he personally failed to be elected.

Later life

Camp retired as a politician and pursued interests in advertising, political commentary, and journalism. He headed an advertising firm, aptly named ''Camp Associates''. In the 1980s and the 1990s, he became a regular political commentator on CBC's '' Morningside'', along with Stephen Lewis and

Eric Kierans Eric William Kierans (February 2, 1914 – May 10, 2004) was a Canadian economist and politician. Early life Born in Montreal, Kierans grew up in the working-class Saint-Henri neighbourhood. His father worked at Canadian Car and Foundry, and ...

, and he was a biweekly political writer for the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' newspaper. He also wrote regular columns for the ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'' and the ''

Saint John Telegraph-Journal The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It serves as both a provincial daily and as a local newspaper for Saint John. The newspaper is published by Brunswick News. The ''Telegraph-Journal'' i ...

'' newspapers for many years. Camp returned briefly to active politics when he was named a senior advisor to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's staff from 1986 to 1989, including consulting for the 1988 election, which saw Mulroney's government campaign for a

free trade agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occ ...

with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Camp left politics in 1989 with some disillusionment toward the increasing

Blue Tory A Blue Tory in Canadian politics is a conservative who advocates for free-market or economically liberal policies. The term has been applied to members of the modern Conservative Party of Canada and provincial Progressive Conservative parties, ...

policies of Mulroney's government and several decisions that were leading to western disillusionment in the caucus. That would become evident when the

Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada (french: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protest ...

was established. In 1993, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. Camp underwent a

heart transplant A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common procedu ...

in 1993, the oldest person in Canada to do so at the time,Obituary
/ref> and he continued to write and give political commentary from his home in

Jemseg, New Brunswick Jemseg is a Canadian rural community in Cambridge Parish, Queens County, New Brunswick. It is located on the east bank of the Jemseg River along its short run from Grand Lake to the Saint John River. The village briefly served as the Capital ...

. He experienced a stroke in February 2002, which led to his death a month later at a hospital in Fredericton. He was survived by six children and eight grandchildren.

Publications

*''Gentlemen, Players and Politicians'', Ottawa: Deneau & Greenberg, 1970 *''Points of Departure'', Ottawa: Deneau and Greenberg, 1979 *''An Eclectic Eel'', Ottawa: Deneau, 1981 *''Whose Country is this Anyway?'', Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1995

References

External links

Order of Canada Citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp, Dalton 1920 births 2002 deaths Acadia University alumni University of New Brunswick alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Canadian political consultants Canadian columnists Canadian political journalists Canadian political commentators Officers of the Order of Canada People from Woodstock, New Brunswick Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Canadian monarchists Canadian expatriates in the United States