Dalton Camp, a powerful backroom Conservative who led the campaign to bring down the party's former leader John Diefenbaker, died Monday at the age of 81.

A political columnist in his later years, Camp suffered a serious stroke on Feb. 13.

Dalton Camp
Dalton Camp

He had been recovering at home, hoping to resume work on his memoirs. But he took a turn for the worse and returned to hospital in Fredericton last week.

Camp was born on Sept. 11, 1920 in Woodstock, N.B., the son of a baptist preacher. He spent part of his childhood in the U.S., travelling from church to church with his father.

He returned to Canada and joined the army, serving between 1942 and 1945. After working briefly for the Liberals, Camp switched to the Conservative Party and eventually became the organization's national president in 1964.

Dalton Camp
Dalton Camp

A major player in backroom politics during the 1960s, Camp helped remove former prime minister Diefenbaker as leader of the Progressive Conservative party, clearing the way for Robert Stanfield.

"He changed profoundly the history of my party," said Tory Leader Joe Clark.

The revolt against Diefenbaker was the first time in Canada that any party leader had been held accountable to the grassroots membership, according to author Peter C. Newman.

Dalton Camp
Dalton Camp

"Dalton Camp really brought democracy an important step forward, and I salute him for it," Newman said Monday.

In later years, Camp wrote a twice-weekly political column for the Toronto Star, and was syndicated across the country. He had been working on his memoirs for about three years.

He was also a member of CBC Radio's political panel on Morningside along with Eric Kierans and Stephen Lewis.

Camp tried running for the House of Commons a few times, but never won a seat. He retired to the Grand Lake area of New Brunswick, but stayed in the public eye as a commentator. He is survived by six children.

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, a Liberal, said Camp's devotion to his country was more important than political partisanship.

"I always admired his abiding commitment to making Canada a stronger, more prosperous and more humane nation," Chrétien said. "Indeed, his passion for the country earned him the respect of people of all partisan stripes."

Former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney said Camp had been a close friend for more than four decades. He described him as witty, thoughtful and someone who could make Mulroney feel better just hearing the sound of his voice.

Governor General Adrienne Clarkson called Camp "a great voice of decency in Canada" who will be deeply missed.

"His belief in our country was profound and based on ethical assumptions of fair play and acceptance, which reverberated with all Canadians," Clarkson said in a statement. "He was an elegant and witty writer, giving us books and columns that were models of balance, judgment and irony. We will miss him – and we will miss his voice."