Peter John Vickers Worthington (February 16, 1927 – May 12, 2013) 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 A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. A

foreign correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

with the ''

Toronto Telegram ''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at the federal and the provincial levels. The paper competed wit ...

'' newspaper from 1956, Worthington was an eyewitness to the murder of

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

in 1963, and can be seen in photographs of the event. He remained with the ''Telegram'' until it folded in 1971. Worthington was the founding editor of 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 ...

'' newspaper, which was created by former ''Telegram'' employees upon that newspaper's demise. In 1996 Worthington was inducted into the

Canadian News Hall of Fame Founded by the Toronto Press Club (now known as the Toronto Press and Media Club) in 1965, the Canadian News Hall of Fame honours more than 100 men and women who have made significant contributions to journalism in Canada. Nominations for inductio ...

Early life

Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Worthington was son of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

F. F. Worthington, Peter Worthington was a

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

of both 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 opposin ...

and the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He joined the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) in 1944, at the age of 17, and served as an air gunner in the Fleet Air Arm, and briefly in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, until his discharge in 1946 with the rank of

Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

. From there he went to 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 ...

. Worthington left the university before completing his degree and joined

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricia's) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1950. In the Korean War he was a

platoon commander {{unreferenced, date=February 2013 A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or firs ...

, then battalion intelligence officer in the

(PPCLI) in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, and ended the war with the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

, 6147 Mosquito Squadron, directing air strikes at enemy targets. After his discharge, he returned to the University of British Columbia, completing his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

, and proceeded to earn a Bachelor's in journalism from what is now

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

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 ...

Toronto Telegram

In 1956, he joined the staff at the ''

'' newspaper. One of early assignments was to cover the Canadian troops stationed in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

. Canadian forces were sent under the directions of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. From that beginning, he would go on to interview

King Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...

in 1958,

Thomas Anthony Dooley III Thomas Anthony Dooley III (January 17, 1927 – January 18, 1961) was an American physician who worked in Southeast Asia at the outset of American involvement in the Vietnam War. While serving as a physician in the United States Navy and aft ...

in 1959, and

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schwei ...

in 1960. In April 1961, Worthington was in Algiers, and on May 15, 1961 Worthington was in Luanda, Angola, covering the

Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...

. In 1962 he was in

Netherlands New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea ( nl, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, id, Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingd ...

, covering the invasion of the country by Indonesia. He was also in the North East frontier of India and China when Chinese forces invaded in that same year. On assignment for the ''Telegram'', Worthington was in Dallas on November 25, 1963, where he was an eyewitness to the killing of

. He covered the trial of

Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of th ...

in February 1964. Starting in January 1965, Worthington was posted in Moscow. In 1967 he was assigned to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, where he covered the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

. On August 21, 1968 he was in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. Worthington covered the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

of 1967 to 1970 in a series of reports that resulted in his second of four National Newspaper Awards and a National Newspaper Citation.

Editor of the Toronto Sun

On Saturday September 18, 1971 the ''Telegram'' announced it was closing. Joining former employees of the ''Telegram'', a new tabloid was started (the ''

'' newspaper), the first edition appearing Monday, November 1, 1971, a day after the last edition of the ''Telegram''. Worthington was the new paper's founding editor. He assumed the title

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

in 1976 when former ''Toronto Telegram'' editor-in-chief J.D. MacFarlane was hired in order to make clear that he didn't answer to MacFarlane, who was forced to take the title "editorial director" instead. A

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, Worthington led the brash new tabloid throughout the 1970s as it campaigned against the government of

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 ...

. In 1978 he became the first Canadian journalist to be charged under the Official Secrets Act for a column in the Sun identifying 16 Canadians who had been recruited by the KGB into treasonous acts on behalf of the Soviet Union. After a year of preliminary hearings, the case was thrown out of court. Worthington resigned from the Sun's Board of Directors and as editor in 1982 after the board voted to accept an offer by

Maclean-Hunter Maclean-Hunter (M-H) was a Canadian communications company, which had diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution. History The company began in 1887, when brothers John Bayne Maclean and Hu ...

to purchase the Sun chain; fearing that the newspaper would lose its independence, he cast the sole dissenting vote against the sale.

Political career

Following the newspaper's sale, Worthington took a leave of absence from the Sun in 1982 in order to seek the nomination of the Progressive Conservative Party for a

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 ...

in Toronto's Broadview—Greenwood riding; Worthington's nomination was opposed by the party leadership and he was defeated by Bill Fastis, who was supported by the riding's Greek-Canadian community, in a hotly contested campaign in which the six candidates for the Tory nomination sold thousands of party memberships. Worthington then ran in the by-election as an independent candidate, and placed a strong second to the winner,

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as cultural ...

Lynn McDonald Lynn McDonald (born July 15, 1940) is a Canadian academic, climate activist and former Member of Parliament. She is a former president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women and was the New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of P ...

, and ahead of the official Tory candidate. He succeeded in becoming the official Progressive Conservative nominee for the riding in the 1984 general election, but was again defeated by McDonald. Son-in-law and political analyst

David Frum David Jeffrey Frum (; born June 30, 1960) is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, who is currently a senior editor at ''The Atlantic'' as well as an MSNBC contributor. In 2003, Frum au ...

credits Worthington's 1982 nomination battle and his subsequent battle with the Tory leadership as "set

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...

in motion the train of events that brought down Conservative Party leader

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 ...

and opened the way for

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...

to win the landslide Conservative victory of 1984." Worthington was a committed conservative and

anti-Communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

. In the mid-1980s, he collaborated with

Craig Williamson Craig Michael Williamson (born 1949), is a former officer in the South African Police, who was exposed as a spy and assassin for the Security Branch (South Africa), Security Branch in 1980. Williamson was involved in a series of events involvi ...

, a former South African Police officer responsible for bombing anti-apartheid activists, to produce a propaganda film ''The ANC method - violence'' which was distributed by the far-right group

Citizens for Foreign Aid Reform Citizens for Foreign Aid Reform (C-FAR) is one of a number of groups run by neo-Nazi and white supremacist Paul Fromm. It was founded in 1976 by Fromm after he had left the white supremacist Western Guard organization. C-FAR became closely linked ...

throughout Canada in 1988. Less well known is his support for

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...

and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

and long-time involvement with the Toronto Humane Society."Toronto Sun founding editor Peter Worthington dead at 86"
''Toronto Sun'', February 13, 2013

FBI informant allegations

Worthington was accused by the ''Ottawa Citizen'' of being an informant for the American

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

about the suspected political sympathies of a number of his friends, including

June Callwood June Rose Callwood, (June 2, 1924 – April 14, 2007) was a Canadian journalist, author and social activist. She was known as "Canada's Conscience". Callwood achieved acclaim and a loyal following for her articles and columns written for na ...

. Worthington filed a complaint against the ''Ottawa Citizen'' with the

Ontario Press Council The Ontario Press Council was a voluntary media adjudication body which investigates complaints about newspapers in Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic ...

and won an apology for its error.

Return to the Sun

After his political defeats, Worthington returned as a columnist for the Toronto Sun and its sister newspapers. In 1989, he was fired by publisher

Doug Creighton Douglas Creighton was a Canadian journalist who co-founded the Toronto Sun with Peter Worthington. Career In 1948 Creighton joined the Toronto Telegram as a police reporter. He advanced to the position of city editor in 1967 and rose to the ...

after being quoted in a rival newspaper saying that the ''Sun'' was not a serious newspaper. He was re-hired soon after to be founding editor of the ''

Ottawa Sun The ''Ottawa Sun'' is a daily newspaper in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is published by Sun Media. It began publication in 1983 as the ''Ottawa Sunday Herald'', until it was acquired by (then) Toronto Sun Publishing Corporation in 1988. In Apri ...

'' for a year, when that paper was relaunched as a daily, and returned to the ''Toronto Sun'' and the Sun chain as a columnist. He continued up until his death as a columnist for Sun Media's parent, QMI.

Personal life

Worthington was married to Yvonne Crittenden and is stepfather of conservative writer

Danielle Crittenden Danielle Crittenden (born April 20, 1963), is a Canadian-American author and journalist. Career Born in Toronto, Ontario, she is the daughter of Max Crittenden, a former editor with the ''Toronto Telegram'', and journalist and book critic Yvon ...

, wife of writer and political advisor

Death

Worthington died 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 ...

on May 12, 2013, after spending four days in

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

with a serious

staph infection A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria. These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasio ...

that compromised his heart, kidneys and other organs. His last published article was his own

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

which began with the line: "If you are reading this, I am dead. How's that for a lead?"

Bibliography

References

External links

*
Worthington reporting
on the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids
CBC - Death of Peter Worthington, published 13 May 2013

Peter Worthington fonds
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worthington, Peter 1927 births 2013 deaths Canadian military personnel from Manitoba Canadian newspaper editors Canadian male journalists Canadian columnists Canadian anti-communists Independent candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II Canadian military personnel of the Korean War University of British Columbia alumni Carleton University alumni Writers from Toronto Toronto Sun editors War correspondents of the Nigerian Civil War Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Candidates in the 1984 Canadian federal election Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry officers