Born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, the son of Alexander and Clara (Muttart) Campbell, Campbell was educated at Summerside Public School and Prince of Wales College.

A Rhodes Scholar, he received a Master of Arts degree from Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

He was elected for 1st Prince in 1931 and re-elected in 1935 and was appointed Attorney and Advocate General in Premier Walter Lea's cabinet.

In 1943, Campbell left politics to become Chief Justice on the island's Supreme Court and, in 1970, became head of the Foreign Claims Commission.

In 2007, he was posthumously inducted into the Prince Edward Island Curling Hall of Fame and Museum.