Neil Reynolds (1940 – May 19, 2013) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

journalist, editor and former leader of the

Libertarian Party of Canada The Libertarian Party of Canada () is a federal political party in Canada founded in 1973. The party subscribes to libertarian and classical liberal tenets; its stated mission is to reduce the size, scope, and cost of government. Party policies ...

Career in journalism

Born in Kingston, Ontario in 1940, Reynolds dropped out of high school and became a journalist. After working as a journalist at the ''Sarnia Observer'' and the ''

London Free Press ''The London Free Press'' is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, Canada. It has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Southwestern Ontario. History ''The London Free Press'' began as the ''Canadian Free Press'', founded by Willia ...

'' he became city editor of the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', leaving in 1974 to join the ''

Kingston Whig-Standard ''The Kingston Whig-Standard'' is a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is published four days a week, on Tuesday and Thursday to Saturday. It publishes a mix of community, national and international news and is currently owned by Postm ...

'', becoming its editor-in-chief in 1978. Reynolds left Kingston to become editor-in-chief of the ''

New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, owned by Postmedia Network. It serves as both a provincial daily and as a local newspaper for Saint John. The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is the only New Br ...

'' and '' Saint John Times-Globe'' in 1992. He was hired by

Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-British writer and former politician, Publishing, newspaper publisher, Investor, financier, and Fraudster, convicted fraudster. Black's father was businessma ...

as editor-in-chief of the ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'' in 1996 and remained there until 2000 when he became editor-in-chief at the ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'' until 2003. He then moved to back Ottawa, Ontario and in 2007, he and his wife, Donna, bought ''Diplomat & International Canada'', a magazine published in Ottawa. In September 2009, he became editor-at-Large of three daily newspapers owned by

Brunswick News Brunswick News Inc. (BNI) was a Canadian newspaper publishing company based on Bloor Street in Toronto. Once privately owned by James K. Irving and based in Saint John, New Brunswick, it was sold to Postmedia Network in 2022. BNI was incorpora ...

Inc, including the ''Telegraph-Journal'' and its two sister publications, the ''

Times & Transcript The ''Times & Transcript'' is a newspaper from Moncton, New Brunswick. It serves Greater Moncton and eastern New Brunswick. Its offices and printing facilities are located on Main Street in Downtown Moncton. The paper is published by Postmedia ...

'' and ''

The Daily Gleaner ''The Daily Gleaner'' is a morning daily newspaper serving the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick, and the upper Saint John River Valley. The paper was printed Monday through Saturday, until dropping to Tuesday through Saturday in 2022 and anno ...

''. Reynolds ended his career as a columnist for the ''Report on Business'' section of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', submitting what would be his final column in the summer of 2012.

Politics

Although he had been a supporter of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

in earlier years, he entered politics as the

's candidate in the 1982

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in the riding of Leeds–Grenville. He won 13.4% of the vote, which was the highest percentage vote ever garnered by a Libertarian Party of Canada candidate, either then or since. In May 1982, he became the party's leader, but resigned in 1983 in order to return to his post as Editor of the Kingston ''Whig-Standard''.Libertarian Bulletin Vol. 9, No. 4, July–August 1983

Personal life

Reynolds' widow, Donna Jacobs, is an Ottawa-based freelance feature writer and columnist. He died on May 19, 2013, of cancer at the age of 72, leaving his wife, three children, and grandchildren.

References

External links

Black's New Look Ottawa Citizen
1997 ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' feature concentrates on Reynolds and his career.
Neil Reynolds Remembered
An article from JSource that looks at Neil Reynolds career and his impact on

Canadian journalism There were five important periods in the history of Canadian newspapers' responsible for the eventual development of the modern newspaper. These are the "Transplant Period" from 1750 to 1800, when printing and newspapers initially came to Canada ...

Neil Reynolds' Columns
''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Neil Canadian newspaper editors Canadian male journalists Libertarian Party of Canada leaders 1940 births 2013 deaths Journalists from Ontario Politicians from Kingston, Ontario The Globe and Mail people Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament Libertarian Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons The Globe and Mail columnists Canadian libertarians