There would be countless tributes to Mackenzie King published in the aftermath of his death on July 22, 1950. But one of the most interesting was written by the Ottawa Journal’s I. Norman Smith. He had covered King for decades and his column on the Monday after the late PM’s death provided a unique perspective on the 10th Prime Minister.
Smith’s tribute was a personal one that looked at King from a leading journalist’s private perspective, and by doing so he illustrated a side of Canada’s fallen leader few were aware of.
“More than any public man I've known, Mr. King practised ‘freedom of the press’ even when it hurt him,” Smith wrote. “On several occasions I have had to approach him on an issue on which our editorials were in full spate against him. He was always courteous, always helpful, always, I believe, as ready to give me as the other fellow the news he had to give. He did not hold his scoops or sweetmeats for those who stroked him smooth. And on the other side of the coin, I cannot recall Mr. King gushing and lushing about The Journal or Its reporters as a dodge to win our support. Many politicians (half of them?) turn a reporter's stomach by praising him to his face beyond not only all reason but acceptable exaggeration. Mr. King did not. He would perhaps remark that he had read a piece with interest or that he was glad to see you at a conference or event. But that was all.”
Coming from a veteran reporter-columnist, this was high praise indeed.