Peter Mansbridge - Newscasting Career

Newscasting Career

While working at Churchill Airport in Churchill, Manitoba in 1968, Mansbridge was recruited to work for a local radio station by a radio executive who heard his voice making a flight announcement for Transair (Mansbridge's regular job was as a baggage handler). From there, he moved 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 at the helm of CBC's flagship newscast beginning May 1, 1988 (as co-anchor of CBC Prime Time News from November 1992 to fall 1995, and as sole anchor of The National otherwise), 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 Trudeau, the 2003 blackout across much of Eastern North America and the death and state funeral of Jack Layton. His coverage of the blackout was notable because 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 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, numerous Olympic Games, and the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama. He reported extensively from Normandy both 50 and then 60 years after D-Day and from the United Kingdom 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.

With the retirement of Lloyd Robertson of CTV National News on September 1, 2011, Mansbridge became the longest-serving active anchor among the big three anchors in Canada, as Dawna Friesen had taken over as anchor at Global National only in 2010. Lisa LaFlamme taking over for Robertson also meant that Mansbridge is the only male anchor among the big three anchors in Canada (Mansbridge, LaFlamme, and Friesen).