John Wesley Dafoe

Who was John Wesley Dafoe?

John Wesley Dafoe was a Canadian journalist and Liberal. From 1901 to 1944 he was the editor of the Manitoba Free Press, later named the Winnipeg Free Press. He also wrote several books, including a biography of Wilfrid Laurier. Dafoe was one of the country's most influential and powerful journalists. During his tenure, the Free Press was among the most important newspapers in Canada and was considered one of the great newspapers of the world. His influence extended to the very centre of Canadian power, both through his writing and his close relations with his employers, the Liberal Sifton family. Dafoe accompanied Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to several Imperial conferences and was asked by the Prime Minister to sit on the Rowell-Sirois Commission studying federal-provincial relations. Dafoe opposed appeasement of Fascist dictators and urged the government to prepare for a major war, which he accurately predicted would begin in 1939.

He advocated free trade policies. During his life he refused a consular position in Washington, a knighthood, and a seat in the Senate of Canada. He also declined to stand for Parliament.

His son Edwin Dafoe also became an editor of the Free Press and his two nephews became editors of The Globe and Mail and The Beaver.