A former Newfoundland politician and trade unionist who was also an active writer and blogger has passed away.
Born in Spaniard’s Bay and raised in Corner Brook, Ed Finn passed away on Sunday at the venerable age of 94.
Finn last posted to his blog in October.
It is with profound sadness that I share the news that my Dad, Ed Finn, passed away peacefully yesterday. He was a remarkable man and a loving husband and father. He has left a void in our lives but will be with us in our hearts forever. https://t.co/HfT5Qjp3mF pic.twitter.com/NUqCUNYqYd
— Kerri Finn (@kerri) December 28, 2020
He started his journalistic career in 1944 with the Western Star where he worked his way up the ranks from reporter to columnist to editor. He covered the Logger’s Strike of the late 1950s, eventually quitting the paper and starting his own short-lived publication.
He was the first leader of the Newfoundland New Democratic Party leading the party into its very first election in 1959. He also ran federally in 1962 and 1963, but was unable to gain a seat in either the House of Assembly or House of Commons.
Finn moved to Ottawa in the early 60s and wrote a weekly labour column for the Toronto Star from 1968 to 1982.
He served 20 years as editor of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ monthly magazine the Monitor, retiring in 2014. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada in November.
