Peter Mansbridge

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Peter Mansbridge

Peter Mansbridge (born July 6, 1948) is a Canadian journalist and anchor of The National, CBC Television's flagship nightly newscast.

Mansbridge was born in London, England and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, where he attended Glebe Collegiate Institute, but dropped out before graduating. He served in the Royal Canadian Navy in 1966 and 1967.

While working as an airport announcer in Churchill, Manitoba in 1968, Mansbridge was recruited to work for a local radio station, followed by a move to CBC Radio's northern service, still in Churchill. In 1971 he moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba to continue as a reporter for CBC Radio and while there in 1972 began as a reporter for CBC Television.

In 1975 he became The National's reporter for Saskatchewan, and in 1976 he became parliamentary correspondent in Ottawa. Following a decade of political coverage, Mansbridge had become a substitute anchor for Knowlton Nash and in 1988, was reportedly being recruited by U.S. broadcaster CBS for a prominent position. Nash, in fact, voluntarily gave up his position as anchor later that year, specifically so that Mansbridge would be promoted to anchor and remain in Canada.

During his tenure as anchor of The National, he has covered Canadian news stories including federal elections, party leadership conventions, the Meech Lake Accord negotiations, the Charlottetown Accord and its referendum, the 1995 Quebec referendum, floods in Manitoba in 1997, ice storms in Ontario and Quebec in 1998, the six days in September 2000 that marked the death and state funeral of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and the 2003 blackout across much of Eastern North America. His coverage of the blackout was notable in that the normally clean shaven Mansbridge had grown a beard during his summer hiatus (as he did every summer), and the news of the blackout broke with no time for him to shave. Thus, Canadian viewers saw a bearded Peter Mansbridge reporting on the events of that fateful day.

He has also anchored coverage of many world events, both in the studio and on the scene. In the studio, he anchored coverage of the Gulf War, the War in Kosovo, and the events surrounding September 11, 2001. He was on the air live when the 2003 invasion of Iraq began and anchored coverage of it. On the scene, he anchored coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales and Pope John Paul II, numerous royal, papal, and U.S. presidential visits to Canada, and numerous Olympic Games. He reported extensively from Normandy both 50 and then 60 years after D-Day and from England and the Netherlands for the fiftieth anniversary of V-E Day. He also reported from the Netherlands for the sixtieth anniversary of V-E Day.

In 1999, he launched a new program, Mansbridge One on One, in which he interviews newsmakers.

He is married to Canadian actress Cynthia Dale. He was previously married to CBC colleague Wendy Mesley, and the breakdown of their marriage became regular tabloid fodder in Frank magazine.

In 2004 a folk-rock band from Sackville, NB, began to release records under the name Peter Mansbridge and the CBCs, in honour of the news anchor.

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[edit] Related Video

One on One with George Stroumboulopoulos, 13 February 2003. (Discusses political music, activism, making an impact, and the untapped literacy of today's youth.)