Jeffrey Carl Simpson,
OC (born February 17, 1949), is a Canadian journalist. Simpson was ''
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 ...
''
's national affairs columnist for almost three decades. He has won all three of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
's leading literary prizes—the
Governor General's Award
The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields.
The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
for non-fiction book writing, the
National Magazine Award
The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...
for political writing, and the National Newspaper Awar
for column writing. He has also won the Hyman Solomon Awar
for excellence in public policy journalism and the
Donner Prize The Donner Prize is an award given annually by one of Canada's largest foundations, the Donner Canadian Foundation, for books considered excellent in regard to the writing of Canadian public policy. The prize was established in 1998 and is meant to ...
for the best public policy book by a Canadian. In January, 2000, he became 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 ...
.
Simpson retired from the Globe at the end of June 2016.
Early life
Simpson was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and moved to Canada when he was 10 years old. Educated at the
University of Toronto Schools
University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by competitive ex ...
, he graduated from
Queen's University in 1971 in History and Political Science. There, he worked for the campus radio station
CFRC
CFRC-FM (101.9 MHz) is the non-commercial campus radio station at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The station has one of the longest radio histories in Canada, with experimental broadcasts dating back to 1922 and serves Que ...
and won the university's Tricolour Award in his graduating year. He then went on to the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
.
In 1972 to 1973, he worked as a Parliamentary Intern in
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 ...
, where he worked for
Ed Broadbent
John Edward "Ed" Broadbent (born March 21, 1936) is a Canadian social-democratic politician, political scientist, and chair of the Broadbent Institute, a policy thinktank. He was leader of the New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. In the 200 ...
. Then, he joined ''The Globe and Mail''.
Career
Simpson's ongoing career with the Globe began at City Hall 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 ancho ...
and with coverage of
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
politics. In 1977, he became a member of the paper's
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 ...
bureau, and eighteen months later he was named ''The Globe and Mail''
's Ottawa bureau chief. From 1981–1983, Simpson served as ''The Globe and Mail''
's European correspondent based in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. From January 1984 until June 2016, he wrote a daily ''Globe and Mail'' column on national affairs.
Simpson has written numerous magazine articles for such publications as ''
Saturday Night'', ''
Report on Business Magazine'', the ''
Journal of Canadian Studies
The ''Journal of Canadian Studies'' () is a bilingual peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to the Canadian studies, interdisciplinary study of Canada. It is published three times a year by the University of Toronto Press.
Abstracting and inde ...
,'' ''
Queen's Quarterly
''Queen's Quarterly'' is a Canadian quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of cultural studies that was established in 1893 by, among others, George Munro Grant, Sanford Fleming, and John Watson, all of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario ...
'', and the ''
Literary Review of Canada
The ''Literary Review of Canada'' is a Canadian magazine that publishes ten times a year in print and online. The magazine features essays and reviews of books on political, cultural, social, and literary topics, as well as original Canadian poet ...
''. He has spoken at dozens of major conferences in Canada and internationally on a variety of domestic and international issues.
Simpson is a frequent and enthusiastic participant in regular political debate on radio or television, in French and in English. He has been a guest lecturer at such universities as
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
,
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...
,
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...
,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
plus more than a dozen universities in Canada.
In 1993–1994, Simpson was on leave from his column as a John S. Knight fellow at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...
. He has been a Skelton-Clark fellow and Brockington Visitor at Queen's University. He has also been a John V. Clyne fellow at the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
, a distinguished visitor at the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
and a member of the
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
Leadership Seminar. He has been awarded honorary doctorates of laws from the University of British Columbia and the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
.
Simpson has been a member of the board of trustees at Queen's University; the board of overseers at Green College, University of British Columbia; the advisory board of the ''Review of Constitutional Studies'' at the University of Alberta; the editorial board of ''The Queen's Quarterly'', and the Canadian Consortium for Asia-Pacific Security at York University and the University of Toronto. He has been vice-chairman of the City of
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 ...
Library Board.
Simpson is a Senior Fellow at the
br>
In 2006, Simpson was awarded the
Charles Lynch Award in recognition of his outstanding coverage of national issues.
Simpson is also an outspoken critic of the
monarchy of Canada
The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the fou ...
and has written in favour of
republicanism
Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
in his column.
Simpson is an avid Ottawa Senators fan and in 2011 attempted to convince the team to replace its general manager, referencing his position as the Globe's national affairs columnist on the newspaper's letterhead to demand the change. He threatened to not renew his season tickets, if the team did not fire the GM.
Simpson is also a member of the
Trilateral Commission
The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...
Books authored
Simpson has authored eight books:
*1980 - ''Discipline of Power'', winner of the
1980 Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction.
*1988 - ''Spoils of Power''
*1993 - ''Faultines, Struggling for a Canadian Vision''
*1996 - ''The Anxious Years''
*2000 - ''Star-Spangled Canadians''
*2001 - ''
The Friendly Dictatorship''
*2007 - ''Hot Air: Meeting Canada's Climate Change Challenge'' (co-authored with
Mark Jaccard
Mark Kenneth Jaccard (born April 12, 1955) is a Canadian energy economist and author. He develops and applies models that assess sustainability policies for energy and material. Jaccard is a professor of sustainable energy in the School of Reso ...
and Nic Rivers)
*2012 - ''Chronic Condition: Why Canada's Health Care System Needs to be Dragged into the 21st Century''
See also
*
List of newspaper columnists
This is a list of notable newspaper columnists. It does not include magazine or electronic columnists.
English-language
Australia
* Phillip Adams (born 1939), ''The Australian''
* Piers Akerman (born 1950), ''The Daily Telegraph''
* Janet Al ...
References
*Information provided by ''The Globe and Mail'', Toronto,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Jeffrey
1949 births
Living people
Alumni of the London School of Economics
American emigrants to Canada
Canadian Anglicans
Canadian political journalists
Canadian political commentators
Officers of the Order of Canada
Queen's University at Kingston alumni
Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers
Canadian republicans
The Globe and Mail columnists