Andy Donato’s time with the Toronto Sun draws to a close

He began on a three-month trial basis, before eventually moving on to Sun, just after Thanksgiving weekend in 1971

Published Sep 05, 2026  •  Last updated 19 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Editorial Cartoonist Andy Donato of the Toronto Sun is inducted into the Italian Walk of Fame on Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency Photo by Veronica Henri /Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency

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Andy Donato has been with the Toronto Sun from Day 1, first serving as a part-time political cartoonist before his love of art and interest in politics could no longer be denied.

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While fine art was his passion, he was also a graphic artist, one who designed the original Sun and, before that, redesigned the Toronto Telegram– which is where he first began dabbling in political drawing, more as what he called “an experiment” to see whether he could actually draw a cartoon.

Where he started …

“The first cartoon I drew was in 1964 on the Canadian flag debate in Ottawa. I still have the original of that,” Donato recalled. “The editor saw it and said, ‘Oh, good, I can run that.'”

Not only did it run in the Telegram but it was also published in the Encyclopedia Americana.

“I was just getting into the political stuff at the Tely. Up until then, I probably couldn’t tell you who the prime minister of Canada was,” Donato said with a laugh.

But he quickly became fascinated by politics, explaining “the part that interests me the most is reading the news, hearing a story, and then trying to do something satirical on that story.”

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Sun Media Cartoonist Andy Donato inside his studio at home on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015. (Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency) Photo by Veronica Henri /Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency

… where he landed

Donato began on a three-month trial basis, filling in whenever Telegram staff cartoonist Al Beaton was off, before eventually moving on to Sun, just after Thanksgiving weekend in 1971, he remembered vividly.

He went from two cartoons a week, alternating with cartoonist Yardley Jones, and by 1973, when the Sunday edition began, Donato moved from three a week to five once Jones left.

“It was hard enough coming up with one idea, let alone three, four, five,” he laughed.

But clearly, the news gave Donato all the material he needed – though he admitted “the summer months, when Parliament adjourns and whatnot, were tough.”

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His favourite subjects

The world of politics comes with plenty of characters to choose from – some cartoons themselves – but Donato has two favourites that made for great editorial content: Former prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney.

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Trudeau (“the father, not the son,” Donato made sure to clarify) was a favourite target of the Sun back in the day.

“We fought him tooth and nail – we thought he was far too much of a socialist,” he recalled.

But then Mulroney came along, when his Progressive Conservatives swept the Liberals, led briefly by John Turner, in a historic landslide victory following Trudeau’s retirement.

“When I go back and look at the Mulroney stuff, I think I was tougher on Mulroney than I was on Trudeau,” Donato mused.

Brian Mulroney is pictured at the podium of the Canadian Club. He is saying: “Stop me if you’ve heard this one!” In the Cartoon’s next panel an enormous “Stop” sign has been hurled at Mulroney.

Donato and Mulroney got along great, he said, noting the then-prime minister “loved my work,” even ordering originals to be framed and hung in his offices, paid for out of the Conservative treasure chest, not by the government, he explained.

Donato would eventually draw so many political cartoons, he had more than enough to fill 10 books.

And who can forget Donato’s bird, his infamous signature image that accompanied his cartoons.

“The bird started back in the ’80s, by 1984, it had become reasonably popular by then,” he recalled of the first time he used it. “I just happened to draw it in a tree I was doing as a cartoon. And I kind of liked it, so i kept drawing it.”

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Andy Donato once won best editorial cartoon in the world for this work titled The American Dream.

His most memorable cartoon is a no-brainer. Titled “The American Dream,” he took the iconic photo, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, but spun it so the U.S. Marines appeared to be “shoving the flag up the Ayatollah (Ruhollah) Khomeini’s rear end.”

“That was back in 1979 or 1980 for the Sun, and it won best editorial cartoon in the world in a competition,” he said proudly of the black-and-white drawing.

It got such a reaction that he re-did it in colour, and it ran on the front page.

If you recall, Donato recently did a Canadian Dream version – except it featured Canadian soldiers shoving the Canadian flag up U.S. President Donald Trump’s behind.

Andy Donato’s cartoon for March 16, 2025.

“I have T-shirts of it, I’m wearing one of the T-shirts right now,” he revealed.

As the years have gone by, his political cartooning continued, though he called it “a dying art.”

And like with many industries, he blamed AI, lamenting that it’s “tough to compete with a single picture by a cartoonist.”

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What the future holds

Donato, who turns 90 in January, plans to take a few weeks off before deciding what to do next – but his other love, painting (“fine art, landscapes, city scenes, Toronto back lanes and back alleys, that kind of stuff”), will definitely be a part of it.

His work is shown at Harbour Gallery in Mississauga, long after his first show back in 1968 and something he likely won’t ever stop doing.

Donato added that he’s always loved that painting, which takes a lot of his time up, and has served as a nice break from the cartooning. Now it will be his focus.

“Some of the techniques I use in cartooning I use in my painting, and vice versa,” he said. “I’ve been very lucky that way.”

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