He was former EMI Music Canada President, dubbed ‘Captain Canada’
The influential executive signed artists including Tom Cochrane, Anne Murray, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Nickelback.
Deane Cameron, who served for close to 25 years as president of EMI Music Canada and was a significant force in the shaping of Canadian music that hit the charts at home and around the world, has died. The president and CEO of The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto since 2015 was visiting his cottage at Eagle Lake in northern Ontario when he suffered a heart attack while walking in the woods. He was 65.
News of Cameron’s death spread like wildfire on social media, with friends and associates expressing shock over his sudden passing, remembering him as a kind, respectful and strong leader, a passionate music fan, a mentor to many and a prominent part of the industry for 40 years. Some had seen him as recently as Monday at Roy Thomson Hall for a performance by comedian John Cleese.
Among the dozens of artists Cameron signed while helming EMI since 1988 were Tom Cochrane, his dear friend from school, as well as Anne Murray, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Glass Tiger, Stompin’ Tom Connors, Rita MacNeil, The Moffatts, Helix, Econoline Crush, The Rankin Family, The Tea Party, Moist, Prism, Susan Aglukark, Alfie Zappacosta, Luba, and, more recently, Nickelback, Serena Ryder, k-os and Johnny Reid.
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