John H. Bryden (born July 15, 1943 in

Dundas, Ontario : ''For the county in eastern Ontario see Dundas County, Ontario. For the upper tier county, see United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.'' Dundas is a community and town in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is nicknamed the ''Valley Town' ...

) is 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, journalist, and historian.

Education

He received an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

in 1966, and a Masters of Philosophy in English from the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in 1968.

Early career

From 1969 to 1989, Bryden held a number of positions as a journalist at several Canadian newspapers including the ''

Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Hami ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and 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 part ...

''.

Political career

Bryden was first elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

as a member of 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'' ...

during the Liberal sweep of Ontario in the 1993 election. He was re-elected in the 1997 election for the riding of Wentworth-Burlington, and again in the 2000 election, in the riding of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot. He supported Deputy Prime Minister

John Manley John Paul Manley (born January 5, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to ...

to succeed the retiring

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

. This brought an end to his political career, as Manley was unable to make much headway against front runner

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 ...

, who not only had a large lead in polls but also controlled much of the party machinery. Bryden's electoral district was abolished, forcing him into an uphill battle against a Martin loyalist. In February 2004, he left the Liberal Party to join the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

, citing disagreement with the actions and policies of the newly chosen Liberal leader Martin, notably criticizing Martin's vindictiveness and blaming him for triggering the

Sponsorship scandal The sponsorship scandal, AdScam or Sponsorgate, was a scandal in Canada that came as a result of a federal government " sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006. ...

, which proved politically disastrous for the Liberal Party. Bryden was unable to gain the Conservative nomination for his riding of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale in the 2004 federal election, and he retired from politics.

As a writer

To date, his books have focused on World War II, including the area of chemical and biological warfare (''Deadly Allies''), signal intelligence (''Best Kept Secret'') and German secret intelligence (''Fighting To Lose''). His writing career was interrupted by his political career after his first two books. He subsequently published ''Fighting To Lose'' in 2014.

Publications include

*''Deadly Allies: Canada's Secret War 1937-1947'', Diane Books Publishing Company, 1989. *''Best Kept Secret: Canadian Secret Intelligence in the Second World War'', Lester, 1993. *''Fighting To Lose: How the German Secret Intelligence Service Helped the Allies Win the Second World War'', Dundurn Press, 2014.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryden, John H. 1943 births 20th-century Canadian historians 21st-century Canadian historians 21st-century Canadian politicians Canadian male journalists Canadian male non-fiction writers Historians of Canada Journalists from Ontario Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people McMaster University alumni Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the United Church of Canada People from Dundas, Ontario Writers from Ontario