Peterson, Roy

Roy Eric Peterson (1936- ) is a Canadian cartoonist.

Roy Peterson was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1936 and attended the Kitsilano Secondary school in Vancouver, British Columbia. His two older brothers, both causalities of World War II, encouraged Peterson’s interest in drawing. In 1962, Peterson joined the Vancouver Sun, replacing Len Norris. His work also appeared in Punch, Time and from 1978 to 2001 in MacLean’s where it was used to illustrate Allan Fotheringham’s column.

During the 1970s with Stanley Burke, Peterson produced a book series including Frog Fables and Beaver Tales (1973) and The Day of the Glorious Revolution (1974) that sold over 250,000 copies. Peterson also published Drawn & quartered: the Trudeau years in 1984.

Peterson helped found the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists and in 1990 served as its president. In 1983 he was elected president of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, the first Canadian to hold that position. Several National Newspaper awards have been given to Peterson (the most for a Canadian journalist) and in 2004 he became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He also received a Montreal International Salon of Humor Grand Prix. His work has appeared in the series, Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year .

Roy Peterson’s career with the Vancouver Sun ended with his layoff from the paper and his last cartoon appeared on May 31, 2009. His farewell cartoon was not published.