Peter John Vickers Worthington (February 16, 1927 – May 12, 2013) was a Canadian

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. 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 age 12 for truan ...

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 are 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.

Early life

Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Worthington was son of Major General 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 an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

of both the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He joined the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, until his discharge in 1946 with the rank of Sub-Lieutenant. 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 University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

. 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 Patricias) 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 Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1950. In the Korean War he was a platoon commander, then battalion intelligence officer in the

(PPCLI) in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, 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 Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

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

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

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

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, 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 se ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

''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, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. Canadian forces were sent under the directions of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. From that beginning, he would go on to interview

King Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was traditionally considered a 40th-generatio ...

in 1958, Thomas Anthony Dooley III in 1959, and

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

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 (), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the Portuguese Empire, former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan War of Independence, Angolan, Guinea-Bissau War of Independence ...

. In 1962 he was in

Netherlands New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea (, ) was the Western New Guinea, western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas administrative territorial entity, overseas territory of ...

, 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; March 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Born in Chicago, R ...

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

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, where he covered the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 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, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. On August 21, 1968, he was in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. Worthington covered the

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

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 editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

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 and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

, 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) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

. In 1978 he became the first Canadian journalist to be charged under the

Official Secrets Act An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of Classified information, state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security. However, in its unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secret ...

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 H ...

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, 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 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 may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...

Lynn McDonald Lynn McDonald (born 15 July 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 ...

, 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 30 June 1960) is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush. He is a senior editor at ''The Atlantic'' as well as an MSNBC contributor. In 2003, Frum authored the ...

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' 199 ...

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

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...

and opened the way for

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was 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 studi ...

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

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

. In the mid-1980s, he collaborated with Craig Williamson, 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 throughout Canada in 1988. Less well known is his support for

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of 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 ...

and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

and long-time involvement with the

Toronto Humane Society Toronto Humane Society is a Toronto charity that operates animal shelters and animal rescue operations. It was founded in 1887 by John J. Kelso dedicated to promote both children's aid and the humane treatment of animals. Since 1891, the 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 agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

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 garnered fame for her articles and columns written for national newspapers and magazines, including Maclean's and Chatelaine. S ...

. Worthington filed a complaint against the ''Ottawa Citizen'' with the Ontario Press Council 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 ...

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 April 2 ...

'' 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, wife of writer and political advisor

Death

Worthington died in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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 (Toronto), ...

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 abrasi ...

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

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

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; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worthington, Peter 1927 births 2013 deaths Anti-communist propagandists Canadian anti-communists Canadian newspaper editors Canadian male journalists Canadian columnists Canadian propagandists Canadian white supremacists Independent candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Canadian military personnel of the Korean War Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II University of British Columbia alumni Carleton University alumni Military personnel from Winnipeg Journalists 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 Royal Canadian Navy officers