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Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, CC, O.Ont (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist.
An accomplished storyteller, Berton was one of Canada's most prolific and popular authors. He wrote 50 books, including ones on popular culture, Canadian history, critiques of mainstream religion, anthologies, children's books and historical works for youth. He popularized Canadian history. wikipedia
In 1994, when interviewed on Canadian public television, Berton was asked to comment on his feelings about the Christmas Season. He said that he is an atheist and felt that [the Christmas Season] was all nonsense.
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A poster to the [message board] reports that in Berton's book 'Starting Out'-The Days of My Youth, he calls himself an agnostic and explains a bit of why he left the Anglican church.
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Richard Thain, past president of the Humanist Association of Ottawa, writes on 12-Oct-2003 to clarify Berton's views:
[Pierre] Berton is listed under agnostic. He is an atheist and this is a well known fact as he has declared this publically on many occasions. "I am an atheist, a rationalist and a humanist."
I saw him on Ontario public television (TVO) last year on a panel discussion on religion in the classroom and he stated bluntly that he is an atheist. He recently received the Humanist of the Year Award from the Humanist Association of Toronto for his atheism and rationalism and for his outspoken stance on controversial issues (abortion rights, gay rights, etc.)