John Wesley Dafoe
Dafoe, John Wesley
John Wesley Dafoe, journalist, liberal reformer (b at Combermere, Canada W 8 Mar 1866; d at Winnipeg 9 Jan 1944). As editor of the Manitoba, later Winnipeg Free Press from 1901 until his death, he was one of the most influential Canadian journalists in history, continuing the editor-as-public-man tradition of Joseph HOWE, W.L. MACKENZIE and others. Born and reared a Conservative, he shifted to liberalism in 1885-1900, when he worked variously in Ottawa (as premier editor of the Journal) and Montréal.
A great admirer of LAURIER and his policies, he viewed the Liberal Party as the best means of social progress and greater national autonomy, but was not slavish in his devotion. He endorsed Sir Robert BORDEN for his nationalism and later, briefly, the Progressive Party for its concern with agriculture. A man of the centre, he always denounced extremes of the left and right, represented in his view by the CCF and Social Credit.
He wrote several books, including Laurier: A Study in Canadian Politics (1922) and Canada: An American Nation (1935). Dafoe also founded an editorial dynasty. His son Edwin (1894-1981) became editor of the Free Press, and 2 nephews are now prominent in Canadian publishing, one as editor of the The Beaver and the other with the Globe and Mail.
Dafoe, John Wesley
John Wesley Dafoe (shown here in 1885) was one of the most influential journalists in Canadian history (courtesy Library and Archives Canada/PA-25579).
Author DOUGLAS FETHERLING
Suggested Reading
R. Cook, The Politics of John W. Dafoe and the Free Press (1963).
Links to Other Sites
John Wesley Dafoe (1866-1944)
A brief review of John Wesley Dafoe's publishing career from the Manitoba Historical Society.
John W. Dafoe Family
See an inventory of John W. Dafoe Family papers at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections. Includes a biography of Mr. Dafoe.
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