His greatest critical success as a writer was his final novel Elizabeth and After which won the 1999 Governor General's Award for English-language Fiction only a few weeks before his death.
A founding member of the Writers' Union of Canada,[6] he served on the executive board for many years and as president in 1986.
During his presidency, the Writer's Union was finally able to persuade the government of Canada to form a commission and establish a Public Lending Right program.
He also served on the Toronto Arts Council as chair of the Literary Division and was able to obtain increased funding for writers.
He was married three times; first to Arden Ford, next to Susan Bricker and then to Patsy Aldana.