Key Takeaways
- The author, Peter Kent, was born in a war zone and had a complex citizenship status due to his parents’ military service abroad.
- He discovered he was not a Canadian citizen at the age of 23, despite being raised in Canada and having Canadian parents.
- Kent went on to cover the Vietnam War as a journalist and later became a Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister in Canada.
- Throughout his career, he has cherished his Canadian citizenship and identity, which has provided him with opportunities and adventures around the world.
- Kent reflects on the importance of Canada’s reputation as a respected and admired country, and hopes that it will remain so in the face of shifting historical alliances and unexpected adversaries.
Introduction to Peter Kent’s Story
Peter Kent, a renowned journalist and former Canadian politician, shares his fascinating story of discovering his true citizenship status at the age of 23. Born in 1943 in a war zone, Kent’s parents were both serving in the Canadian Army in England. His mother, Aileen Fears, was a Canadian Army nurse, and his father, Parker, was a Canadian Army intelligence officer. Despite being raised in Canada, Kent’s citizenship status was unclear due to the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947, which allowed for descent from Canadian parents abroad. Until he applied for his passport, neither Kent nor his parents realized that he needed to adjust his status after the war.
Kent’s Early Life and Career
Kent’s early life was marked by a relatively normal post-war childhood, with his family following his journalist father to various cities in Canada. He studied briefly in the Canadian Navy Venture Program and received a commission in the Army Reserve in 1963. It wasn’t until he applied for his passport at the age of 23 that he discovered he was not a Canadian citizen. This revelation led to a civilized and mildly bureaucratic route to naturalization, and Kent eventually received his Canadian passport in time for his initial foreign assignment to Vietnam.
Covering the Vietnam War
Kent’s experience covering the Vietnam War in 1966 was a pivotal moment in his career. He spent time with Canadian military and diplomatic personnel, as well as with Polish, Hungarian, and Indonesian counterparts, overseeing the ineffective Geneva Peace Accords. Kent also embedded with U.S. military units, where he was given a Canadian arm band by a Canadian Army NCO, which he kept in his back pocket as a symbol of his Canadian identity. During his time in Vietnam, Kent had several close calls, including a hair-raising mission with a U.S. Air Force pilot, Captain Bob Norman, who warned him that if they were shot down, Kent would likely be shot as a worthless journalist.
Kent’s Reflections on Canadian Citizenship
Throughout his career, Kent has cherished his Canadian citizenship and identity, which has provided him with opportunities and adventures around the world. As a journalist, he has shared the confidence of sources around the world, and as a cabinet minister, he has been afforded the benefit of the doubt as a representative of Canadian interests. Kent reflects on the importance of Canada’s reputation as a respected and admired country, and hopes that it will remain so in the face of shifting historical alliances and unexpected adversaries.
Kent’s Later Career and Reflections
Kent went on to have a distinguished career as a Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister in Canada, serving as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Americas) and Minister of the Environment. In retirement, he has focused on late-life therapy with the bass guitar. Looking back on his experiences, Kent is grateful for the opportunities and adventures that his Canadian citizenship has provided him. He hopes that Canada will continue to be a beacon of stability and respect in a rapidly changing world, and that its citizens will continue to be proud of their country’s reputation as a force for good.
