Editing Joe Clark (section)

==Early years==
[[File:Charles Clark House.jpg |thumb|left|250px|Charles Clark House, a cultural heritage site in Canada, number 6563 in the Canadian Register of Historic Places<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=6563 |title= Clark Residence, The |publisher= The Canadian Register of Historic Places |access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref>]]
Charles Joseph Clark was born on June 5, 1939, in [[High River]], [[Alberta]], the son of Grace Roselyn (née Welch) and local newspaper publisher Charles A. Clark.<ref name=Britannica>{{Cite web |title=Joe Clark |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joe-Clark |access-date=2024-05-03 |website=Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Leonard Voisey |url=https://archive.org/details/highrivertimesal00vois |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/highrivertimesal00vois/page/104 104] |title=High River and the Times: An Alberta Community and Its Weekly Newspaper |year=2004 |publisher=University of Alberta |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref>

Clark attended local schools and the [[University of Alberta]], where he earned a bachelor's degree in history (1960) and a master's degree in [[political science]] (1973).<ref name=Britannica/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alberta.ca/aoe-joe-clark.aspx|title=The Right Honourable Charles Joseph Clark–Alberta Order of Excellence|publisher=Government of Alberta|access-date=January 22, 2022}}</ref> While in high school, he gained journalism experience with the ''High River Times'' and the ''[[Calgary Albertan]]''. In his first year at the University of Alberta, Clark joined the staff of the campus newspaper, ''[[The Gateway (newspaper)|The Gateway]]'', and eventually became its editor-in-chief. Clark was also a member of the University of Alberta Debate Society (UADS). He later worked one summer at the ''[[Edmonton Journal]]'' where he met his future biographer, [[David L. Humphreys]].<ref name="Joe Clark 1978">''Joe Clark: A Portrait'', by David L. Humphreys, 1978.</ref>

Clark then attended [[Schulich School of Law|Dalhousie Law School]].  However, he spent more time with the [[Dalhousie Student Union]], Progressive Conservative politics and the ''[[The Dalhousie Gazette|Dalhousie Gazette]]'', than on his courses.  After leaving Dalhousie, he unsuccessfully pursued first-year law studies at the [[University of British Columbia Faculty of Law]] in Vancouver. He then worked full-time for the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative Party]].

In 1973, Clark married law student [[Maureen McTeer]]. McTeer has developed her own career as a well-known author and lawyer and caused controversy by keeping her maiden name after marriage, a practice less common at the time.<ref name="Joe Clark 1978"/> Their daughter, [[Catherine Clark (broadcaster)|Catherine]] has pursued a career in broadcasting.<ref>{{Cite web |last=coyleadmin |date=2023-12-06 |title=AN HONEST TALK WITH CATHERINE CLARK ABOUT THE HONEST TALK |url=https://luxemagazineottawa.com/blog/an-honest-talk-with-catherine-clark-about-the-honest-talk/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Luxe Magazine Ottawa |language=en-US |quote=...a talent developed over the dinner table at the home of Joe Clark and Maureen McTeer that ended up serving as a life’s calling for their much-loved daughter Catherine. After procuring a degree in art history at U of T, Cathering (sic) defied expectations and opted for a career in media.}}</ref>