Peter Mansbridge

Peter Mansbridge (born July 6, 1948) is a British-born Canadian retired news anchor. From 1988 to 2017, he was chief correspondent for CBC News and anchor of The National, CBC Television's flagship nightly newscast. He was also host of CBC News Network's Mansbridge One on One. Mansbridge has received many awards and accolades for his journalistic work, including an honorary doctorate from Mount Allison University, where he served as chancellor until the end of 2017. On September 5, 2016, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announced that Mansbridge would be stepping down as chief correspondent and anchor on July 1, 2017, after the coverage of Canada's 150th-anniversary celebrations. Early life Mansbridge was born on July 6, 1948, in London, England. He and his siblings Paul and Wendy were the children of Stanley Harry Mansbridge, DFC (1918–2005), an RAF Wing Commander who worked as a civil servant in England, Malaya, and Canada; and Brenda Louise Mansbridge (née Harris-Jones, died 2008). His father received a DFC for his service as a navigator aboard an Avro Lancaster bomber during World War II. His grandfather Harry Mansbridge was Canadian and a member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. After moving to Ottawa, Ontario, Mansbridge attended high school at the Glebe Collegiate Institute, but dropped out or quit before graduating Grade 12 in 1966. He next served in the Royal Canadian Navy in 1966 and 1967 as a Royal Canadian Navy Pilot Trainee (Venture Officer's Plan) but left because this 2 year RCN Officer training plan required everyone joining to be a High School graduate. Newscasting career Mansbridge worked as a ticket agent for Transair at Churchill Airport in Churchill, Manitoba. In 1968, Mansbridge was discovered by Gaston Charpentier, a station manager for the local Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) radio station CHFC, when he heard Mansbridge making a flight announcement. Charpentier hired the 19-year-old Mansbridge as the host of CHFC's late night music program. In 1971, Mansbridge moved to Winnipeg to continue as a reporter for the CBW radio station and in the next year, he joined CBWT-TV as a reporter. In 1975, Mansbridge became a reporter in Saskatchewan for the CBC's flagship evening news program The National. In 1976, he relocated to Ottawa to become parliamentary correspondent.