Few Canadians have contributed as much as Ed Finn to creating the society we now take for granted in this country. As a journalist in Newfoundland, he defied both his bosses and premier Joey Smallwood by standing up for striking loggers in the late 1950s. He became the first NDP leader in that province, before joining Tommy Douglas in defending the Medicare system Canadians now take for granted.

Finn’s 70-year career included writing for the Montreal Gazette and the Toronto Star, as well as working for the Canadian Union of Public Employees. He served three years on the board of directors of the Bank of Canada, and most recently has been working with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

This book is a history of modern-day Canada from the perspective of an outsider, yet one whose talents led him to positions of influence and the corridors of power.

Ed Finn is editor of the CCPA Monitor, the monthly journal of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a left wing think tank based in Ottawa. Formerly, as a journalist, he worked at The Montreal Gazette and for 14 years wrote a column on labour relations for The Toronto Star. Finn served as a board member with the Bank of Canada, and in the early 1960s was the first leader of the Newfoundland New Democratic Party. In the late 1950s, he resigned as editor of the Corner Brook daily newspaper after refusing orders to stop reporting the views of striking loggers in central Newfoundland. Finn also worked for several labour organizations, including the Canadian Labour Congress and the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

Ed Finn's profile page