Donald Campbell Jamieson, (April 30, 1921 – November 19, 1986) 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 ...

politician, diplomat and broadcaster. Jamieson was born in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. His father was a newspaper editor, and his grandfather was a fisherman who settled in Newfoundland from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Early life and Confederation

He worked for Newfoundland's Department of Rural Reconstruction, as a bookkeeper, and as a sales manager for

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

before starting a career in broadcasting. He was Newfoundland's best known radio and television personality. In 1945, he became the first Newfoundlander to sit in the

press gallery {{Short description, Parliamentary reporters The press gallery is the part of a parliament, or other legislative body, where political journalists are allowed to sit or gather to observe and then report speeches and events. This is generally one of ...

of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

, reporting on the negotiations that led to Canada inviting Newfoundland to join

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

. During the two

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

s on the question in 1948, Jamieson vehemently campaigned in opposition to Newfoundland joining Canada, favouring an economic union 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 territorie ...

instead. The

Party for Economic Union with the United States The Economic Union Party (EUP, formally the Party for Economic Union with the United States) was a political party formed in the Dominion of Newfoundland on 20 March 1948, during the first referendum campaign on the future of the country. The Briti ...

was led by

Chesley Crosbie Chesley Arthur "Ches" Crosbie (November 4, 1905 – December 26, 1962) was a Newfoundland businessman and politician. Early life Crosbie belonged to a prominent St. John's family involved in hotels, fish exporting, insurance, shipping and manufac ...

and Jamieson became known as "my father's voice" according to

John Crosbie John Carnell Crosbie, (January 30, 1931 – January 10, 2020) was a Canadian provincial and federal politician who served as the 12th lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Prior to being lieutenant governor, he served as a p ...

Broadcasting

In 1951, he obtained a licence, in partnership with

Geoff Stirling Geoffrey William Stirling (March 22, 1921 – December 21, 2013) was a Canadian-American businessman and media magnate, best known for his work in his home city of St. John's, Newfoundland. Life Stirling was born in St. John's to Edgar Stiling ...

, for a new radio station in St. John's. He eventually established a private radio network in Newfoundland, and the island's first television station

CJON-TV CJON-DT (channel 21), branded on-air as NTV (short for Newfoundland Television), is an English-language independent television station in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, owned by Newfoundland Broadcasting Company Ltd. The statio ...

. While Stirling was heavily interested in the business aspect, Jamieson became known to Newfoundlanders as the host of the nightly News Cavalcade. The program featured a main news segment, weather and an extended interview that included guests from

Howie Meeker Howard William Meeker (November 4, 1923 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian professional hockey player in the National Hockey League, youth coach and educator in ice hockey, and a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament. He became best ...

Joey Smallwood Joseph Roberts Smallwood (December 24, 1900 – December 17, 1991) was a Newfoundlander and Canadian politician. He was the main force who brought the Dominion of Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation in 1949, becoming the first premier of ...

. He became president of the

Canadian Association of Broadcasters The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is a trade association representing the interests of commercial radio and television broadcasters in Canada. It is co-located with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in Ottawa. It was first e ...

in 1961, and remained in that position for four years. During his time as president Jamieson traveled the country extensively and also recorded daily 'minute-torials' that were 60 second long commentary broadcasts recorded at CJON which were nationally distributed via the CAB and subsequently syndicated across Canada. Jamieson was also involved in the transition of the

Board of Broadcast Governors The Board of Broadcast Governors (BBG) was an arms-length Government of Canada agency. It was created in 1958 by amending the ''Broadcast Act'' to regulate television and radio broadcasting, originally taking over that function from the CBC. ...

changing over to the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

Political life

Jamieson entered politics by successfully contesting a 1966

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

as a candidate for the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

. He was re-elected in the 1968 election, and joined the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

as Minister of Defence Production. In 1969, he became

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

retaining that portfolio until 1972 when he became Minister of Regional Economic Expansion. In 1976, he became

Secretary of State for External Affairs The Minister of Foreign Affairs (french: Ministre des Affaires étrangères) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the Government of Canada's international relations and is the lead minister respo ...

. He was re-elected in the 1979 election that brought down the Liberal government. Jamieson then moved to provincial politics, winning the leadership of the

Newfoundland Liberal Party The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a political party in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party is the provincial branch, and affiliate of the federal Liberal Party of Canada. It has served as the Government o ...

one month before the June 1979 provincial election. Jamieson's Liberals were defeated, and he resigned as provincial party leader in 1980. In 1983, he was appointed Canada's

High Commissioner to the United Kingdom The following is the list of ambassadors and high commissioners to the United Kingdom, or more formally, to the Court of St James's. High commissioners represent member states of the Commonwealth of Nations and ambassadors represent other sta ...

, and served until 1985. "His fund of political anecdotes and Newfoundland stories made him a firm favourite with the Queen," - published in

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

in 1986. He returned to Newfoundland to run his broadcasting interests before dying of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in 1986.

Just Himself: the Don Jamieson Story

His grandson, Joshua Jamieson, produced, directed and wrote a documentary titled "Just Himself: the story of Don Jamieson", which was developed over a three-year period and produced by Odd Sock Films Inc. in association with m0xY Productions. The documentary features interviews with

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...

William Rompkey William Hubert Rompkey (May 13, 1936 – March 21, 2017) was a Canadians, Canadian educator who served as House of Commons of Canada, member of Parliament from 1972 to 1995 and a Senate of Canada, senator from 1995 to 2011. Early life and educa ...

Mike Duffy Michael Dennis Duffy (born May 27, 1946) is a former Canadian senator and former Canadian television journalist. Prior to his appointment to the upper house in 2008, he was the Ottawa editor for CTV News Channel. In turning 75 on May 27, 202 ...

Richard Cashin Richard Joseph Cashin, (born January 5, 1937 in St. John's, Newfoundland) is a lawyer, former Canadian politician and trade union leader. The grandson of Sir Michael Cashin, KBE and nephew of Peter Cashin, Richard Cashin is a member of a ...

, Edward Roberts,

Mary Hodder Mary J. Hodder (born April 5, 1945) is a Canadian former politician. She represented the riding of Burin-Placentia West in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 1996 to 2003 as a member of the Liberal Party The Liberal Party is ...

, Don Hollett, Scott Andrews,

Scott Simms Scott Simms (born August 12, 1969) is a Canadian politician. He was the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Newfoundland and Labrador riding of Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame from 2004 until 2021. Early life Scott Simms was born on Augus ...

, Chris Dunn, Bill Callahan, Jim Furlong and Gerry Phelan. The film also includes insights from Jamieson's children: Heather Jamieson, Donna Jamieson Sittmann, Roger Jamieson and Debby Jamieson Winters as well as his brother's Bas Jamieson (longtime host of the ''Open Line'' program heard on VOCM) and Colin Jamieson. The film was shot in six locations that included St John's,

Swift Current Swift Current is the fifth largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is situated along the Trans Canada Highway west of Moose Jaw, and east of Medicine Hat, Alberta. Swift Current grew 6.8% between 2011 and 2016, ending up at ...

Marystown Marystown is a town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The provi ...

, Burin,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. It is narrated by Brian Tobin and set to air on NTV (

CJON-DT CJON-DT (channel 21), branded on-air as NTV (short for Newfoundland Television), is an English-language independent television station in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, owned by Newfoundland Broadcasting Company Ltd. The stati ...

) in the fall of 2011.

References

External links