The fonds consists of the textual records and graphic material of Thomas Van Dusen, documenting his career in politics and as an author. It includes correspondence, notes, reports, and other related material relating to his tenure as an Executive Assistant to the Rt. Hon. John Diefenbaker and other cabinet ministers and politicians, and his work in other positions on Parliament Hill. The fonds also holds draft manuscripts of his published and unpublished writings, correspondence, and other material, including campaign posters, photographs of Van Dusen and Diefenbaker, and a political cartoon of Michael Starr.
Van Dusen, Thomas, 1921- : Thomas Van Dusen was born on August 24, 1921 in Ottawa. He grew up in Gracefield, Quebec and he graduated from the University of Ottawa. He worked as a journalist in the Parliamentary Press Gallery for the Ottawa Journal from 1946 to1951 before becoming an Information Officer with the National Film Board from 1951 to 1956. He worked as an Executive Assistant to the Hon. Michael Starr, Minister of Labour from 1957 to 1962 and stood as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the federal riding of Gatineau in the elections of 1962 and 1963. He then served as the Executive Assistant to the Rt. Hon. John G. Diefenbaker from 1963 to 1967.
Van Dusen held various other positions on Parliament Hill during his long political career: Assistant to the Leader of the Opposition, Robert Stanfield, 1968-1970; Legislative Assistant to the Hon. Allan MacEachern, Minister of Manpower and Immigration, 1970-1973; Special Assistant to the Hon. Mitchell Sharp, President of the Privy Council, 1974-1975; Special Advisor to the Speaker on Broadcasting in Parliament, 1976-1979; Special Advisor to the Hon. Walter Baker, President of the Privy Council, 1980; Advisor on Broadcasting, House of Commons, 1980-1981; Special assistant to the Hon. Erik Nielsen, 1981-1984; Special Assistant to the Hon. Brian Mulroney, Leader of the Opposition, 1984; and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney, 1984-1990.
Thomas Van Dusen assisted the Rt. Hon. John G. Diefenbaker with the preparation of Volumes I and II of his memoirs. In 1974, he was the location interviewer for the television documentary, One Canadian: The Political Memoirs of the Rt. Hon. John G. Diefenbaker. He is the author of several books based on his career and experiences on Parliament Hill. In particular, he was the author of The Chief (1968) and Inside the Tent: Forty-five years on Parliament Hill (1998). He was also the author of the political novel, The Power Brokers (1976). He retired from Parliament Hill in 1990 but continued his writing career.
