Remembering Richard: An Informal Portrait of Richard Hatfield by His Friends, Family and Colleagues

Richard Wilbur is supervisor of the Legislative Research Service, New
Brunswick Legislature, and author of The Rise of French New Brunswick.

For 17 years, Richard Hatfield seemed to rule New Brunswick as his
private fiefdom. The subject of two biographies since his death from a
brain tumor in 1991, Hatfield was already a legend in his own time,
thanks in part to his “Disco Dick” image and to the major role he
played in promoting Trudeau’s constitutional-reform efforts.

Although this latest biography is a collective tribute by Hatfield’s
closest associates and friends, both in New Brunswick and central
Canada, it does contain some insightful comments. Two of the book’s 82
contributors stand out: Dalton Camp, probably Hatfield’s closest
political adviser and one of his oldest friends; and Barry Toole, who
served as deputy minister in the premier’s office for most of the
Hatfield era. It was Camp who angrily defended Hatfield in a rancorous
confrontation with The Journal’s Barbara Frum shortly after the
premier was cleared of drug charges. According to Toole, after that
decision, “governing returned to normal in New Brunswick, but Hatfield
never recovered from the political consequences.”

Remembering Richard presents a stronger and clearer portrait of
Hatfield than ever emerged from the tremendous media coverage he
received during his 17 years as New Brunswick’s premier. It is the
measure of the man that other defeated politicians rarely merit, or
receive, a posthumous tribute from friends and colleagues.