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Alexander Grant Dexter, journalist (born 3 February 1896 in St Andrews, MB; died 12 December 1961 in Ottawa, ON). Grant Dexter was the archetypal Canadian political reporter of the 1940s, a splendid journalist with access to the best governmental sources.
After attending Brandon College, in 1912 he joined the Manitoba Free Press, where, with time out for war service, he was schooled in Liberal journalism by J.W.Dafoe.
After serving in various posts, in 1938 he became Ottawa correspondent. Through links to T.A. Crerar in particular, and to key bureaucrats, Dexter learned of government decisions more quickly than most, and his coverage of politics was informed by this inside knowledge. Although he was editor of the Free Press 1948–54, he is remembered for his reportage and through his fine collection of papers at Queen's University. Dexter's wartime memoranda, a superb compendium of political gossip and hard information, have been published as Ottawa at War: the Grant Dexter Memoranda, 1939-1945 (1994).
