Early Life

Gordon Campbell was born in Vancouver and grew up in Point Grey. His father, Charles, was a respected doctor and assistant dean of medicine at UBC. His mother, Peg, worked raising a young family of four children and as a kindergarten assistant at University Hill Elementary.  Gordon attended University Hill Elementary and University Hill Secondary School.  Gordon Campbell’s circumstances changed abruptly at age 13 when his father died. The death of Gordon’s father had a major impact on the family. His mother was forced to sell the family home and take a job as a secretary which paid just $215 a month.  Wanting to remain in the neighbourhood. Peg, had to move the family into a small one-bedroom rented apartment less then two blocks from their original home. Gordon, the eldest son, at the age of 13 found himself in the new role of helping his mother raise the young family. 

Gordon attended University Hill Elementary and Secondary School in Point Grey where he was active on most high school sports and debating teams including basketball, track and field, swimming, soccer, badminton and community football and baseball teams.  Gordon was also student council president.  Upon completing high school he moved north to work as a labourer in Topley Landing, a small town in Northern B.C., to earn money for University. While in Topley Landing, he learned he had won a scholarship that enabled him to attend Dartmouth College, an Ivy League institution in New Hampshire. 

At Dartmouth, Mr. Campbell first worked in the Dining Hall and then became Student Associate to the Secretary of the College to help pay his way through University.  Mr. Campbell initially intended to study medicine, like his father, but after being inspired by three English professors he shifted focus to studying English and urban management and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. 

After completing college Mr. Campbell married his wife Nancy and the two left Vancouver to teach under the auspices of the Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO) program in Yola, Nigeria for two years in the early 1970s. While there, Mr. Campbell coached state championship teams in basketball and track-and-field and helped rebuild the school library.

Upon returning to Vancouver, Mr. Campbell worked for the City of Vancouver for three years as Executive Assistant to Mayor Art Phillips. In 1976 Mr. Campbell left the Mayor’s office to work for Marathon Realty. While working at Marathon, Mr. Campbell took night courses at Simon Fraser University and received his Masters Degree in Business Administration. After five years at Marathon Mr. Campbell started his own business, Citycore Development Corporation which would go on to build several projects in Vancouver.

During this period Mr. Campbell remained active in Vancouver politics, joining the Downtown Stadium Committee which successfully lobbied the government to build BC Place Stadium at its current location in downtown Vancouver. On the heels of this success in 1984 Mr. Campbell ran for and was elected to Vancouver City Council.

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