Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...

French Canadians French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Peter Desbarats Peter Hullett Desbarats, Order of Canada, OC (July 2, 1933 – February 11, 2014) was a Canadian author, playwright and journalist.Terry Mosher described Hunter as "a great and gentle caricaturist".

Biography

As the snow of concealment disappears 1908

Hunter was born in Millbrook in

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

in March 1859, and first started showing his talent for caricature during his time as a schoolboy. He initially followed his father John Hunter's footsteps to become a Clerk of the Division Court at Millbrook. As a young man, he travelled through Western Canada, and produced a series of prints concerning Indians and western life. His first published work as an illustrator appeared in 1882, with his first political cartoons commissioned by John Wilson Bengough for the satirical magazine '' Grip'' 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 ...

. He was firmly established in Toronto by 1885. Together with Bengough and other cartoonists, he helped to popularize the fictional character of

Johnny Canuck Johnny Canuck is a Canadian cartoon hero and superhero who was created as a political cartoon in 1869 and was later re-invented as a Second World War action hero in 1942. The Vancouver Canucks, a professional ice hockey team in the National Hoc ...

as a

national personification A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symboliz ...

of Canada. He worked for the ''Toronto World'' newspaper for twenty years beginning in 1897. His work displayed his support for the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

and criticized Liberals such as

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...

,

French Canadians French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...

,

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and Americans. Many of Hunter's cartoons were inspired by

William Findlay Maclean William Findlay Maclean (August 10, 1854 – December 7, 1929) was a Canadians, Canadian politician. Born in Ancaster, Ontario, Ancaster, Wentworth County, Ontario, Wentworth County, Canada West, the son of John Maclean and Isabella Findlay ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Hunter moved to '' The Globe'' where his satirical targets included French-Canadian opposition to conscription. These cartoons had a noticeable anti-Laurier and anti-Quebec bias. After the war, he moved to 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. ...

''. He had also worked for the ''Toronto News'' For three months every summer, Hunter stayed at "Pepacton", a cottage on the McCracken's Shore of Stony Lake, which became a gathering place for artists, writers and musicians. He wrote about the area for the ''

Peterborough Examiner ''The Peterborough Examiner'' is a newspaper that services Peterborough, Ontario and area. The paper started circulation in 1847, and is currently owned by Torstar and operated by its Metroland division. Between 1942 and 1955, it was edited by C ...

'' in 1895. Hunter retired in early 1937, and died in Toronto in December 1939.

References

Works cited

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Sam 1858 births 1939 deaths Artists from Ontario Canadian editorial cartoonists People from Peterborough County