Lloyd Robertson, the broadcaster who spent 41 years as a national television news anchor in Canada, first at CBC, then for 35 years at CTV National News, has died at age 92. His family confirmed he passed away Tuesday evening, according to CTV News, which reported the death Wednesday morning alongside CBC News, Global News and The Globe and Mail.
A career that spanned six decades
Robertson’s path into broadcasting started young. Born in Stratford, Ontario, he began working Saturdays at local station CJCS at age 18 in 1952, then moved to CJOY in Guelph before joining the CBC in 1956. He worked his way through CBC postings in Winnipeg and Ottawa before landing in Toronto, where he anchored The National, CBC’s flagship newscast, from 1970 to 1976.
In 1976, Robertson left the CBC for CTV, citing frustration with union rules that prevented anchors from writing their own scripts or shaping editorial decisions. He became co-anchor of CTV National News that year and took over as sole chief anchor in 1984 after co-anchor Harvey Kirck retired. He held the chair until his final broadcast on September 1, 2011, a 41-year run across both networks that made him the longest-serving national news anchor in television history.
Over those decades, Robertson was in the anchor chair for many of the defining moments of the era: the 1967 opening of Expo 67, the 1969 Moon landing, Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope, both Quebec sovereignty referendums, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the September 11 terrorist attacks. TV Guide Canada readers voted him the country’s most trusted television journalist for 11 consecutive years. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1998, became the first journalist inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2007, and was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame in 2016.
Tributes from Ottawa and the newsroom
Prime Minister Mark Carney paid tribute Tuesday night, describing Robertson as a familiar face in the living rooms of millions of Canadians for decades. Former CTV colleagues, including Lisa LaFlamme and Omar Sachedina, remembered him as a mentor and one of the country’s greatest journalists. Bell Media, CTV’s parent company, said Robertson was a trusted and beloved broadcaster for 35 years with the network, with vice-president of news Richard Gray saying he left an indelible mark on both CTV News and Canadian journalism.
Why it matters
Robertson’s death closes out the era of the single, nightly national anchor who millions of Canadians turned to as a shared, trusted source for major news, a role that has fragmented since his 2011 retirement as audiences moved to cable news, streaming and social platforms. His 41 years anchoring national newscasts across two networks remains a record unmatched in Canadian television, and unlikely to be repeated in an industry that no longer builds careers, or audiences, around a single evening broadcast.
Via CTV News. Sourcing: second independent source CBC News independently confirms the death, age, and 41-year anchor tenure. Career facts corroborated via Wikipedia and Globe and Mail obituary. Tribute quotes sourced via Yahoo News Canada aggregation of Bell Media/CTV statements and PM Carney’s social media post.
