Joey Smallwood

Joey Smallwood — journalist, labour agitator, historian and politician — was a man of many parts. In the 1940s, all these elements united in a no-holds-barred struggle to convince Newfoundlanders that their future lay with Canada. Born to poverty, Smallwood cut his political teeth as an activist in the 1930s. He knew, firsthand, the threadbare existence of most Newfoundlanders. He became the province’s first Canadian premier in 1949 and remained in office for 22 years, transforming Newfoundland through lavish federal and provincial investment. Strong-willed and autocratic, he was not always wise. As a communicator, however, he left a priceless legacy of historical and cultural knowledge to his beloved Newfoundland.