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Lloyd Robertson

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Lloyd Robertson
OC
Lloyd Robertson (left) and Brian Williams in 2010
Born
Lloyd John Robertson

(1934-01-19)January 19, 1934
Stratford, Ontario, Canada
DiedAugust 4, 2026(2026-08-04) (aged 92)
OccupationNews anchor
Years active1952–2016
Notable creditCTV National News
Spouse
Nancy Robertson
​
(m. 1956)​
Children4 daughters
Family7 grandchildren

Lloyd Robertson OC (January 19, 1934 – August 4, 2026) was a Canadian journalist and news anchor. He served as the chief anchor and senior editor of CTV's national evening newscast, CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson, from 1984 until 2011, when he retired from the broadcast. Robertson subsequently co-hosted CTV's weekly newsmagazine series W5 from 2011 to 2016.

Robertson covered many major events throughout his career, including the 1967 opening of Expo 67 in Montreal, the 1969 Moon landing alongside Percy Saltzman, numerous Olympic Games, Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope, the patriation of the Constitution of Canada, the 1980 and 1995 Quebec referendums on separation from Canada, numerous federal elections, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the September 11 attacks in 2001, and the Northeast blackout of 2003.

As a reporter, he covered the construction of the Berlin Wall, the deaths of four former Canadian prime ministers, the elections of nearly half of Canada's prime ministers, state funerals, and royal, papal, and U.S. presidential visits. His name was also the basis for the satirical news anchor character Floyd Robertson, portrayed by Joe Flaherty on the Canadian television comedy series SCTV.

Early life

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Robertson was born on January 19, 1934 in Stratford, Ontario, the son of Lillie and George Robertson.[1] His father had eight children with his first wife; after she died, he remarried and had two sons, Gordon and Lloyd.[2] Lloyd was the youngest child. His father, who was 60 when Robertson was born, worked as a machinist's helper for the Canadian National Railway, while his mother was a homemaker.[2][3] His father was of Scottish descent, while his mother had emigrated from England.

Robertson later described his childhood as difficult. His mother struggled with severe mental illness, including paranoia, obsessive-compulsive behaviour and anxiety, and underwent a prefrontal lobotomy in 1948. He later said the operation "flat-lined her emotionally"[4] and effectively ended any chance of a close emotional relationship between them.[3]

His father suffered from recurring cancer and died when Robertson was 21.[5] During much of his childhood, Robertson was cared for by his older half-siblings, particularly his twin half-brother and half-sister, Irvin and Ethel.[5][6]

Robertson credited broadcasting with providing an escape from his troubled home life. At age 12, he watched CJCS radio broadcasters cover the return of soldiers from the Perth Regiment following the Second World War and later recalled realizing he was witnessing "something much bigger than myself."[2] As a teenager, he persuaded the station to hire him for after-school work, spinning 78 rpm records and learning the fundamentals of broadcasting, a job he later said marked the beginning of his lifelong career in journalism.[3][2]

Broadcasting career

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Radio

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Robertson started his broadcasting career in 1952 at CJCS radio. He started working after school on Saturdays as an operator, spinning 78 rpm records, and read the news at midnight before he signed off.[2] Robertson completed high school and continued to work at CJCS until he moved to CJOY in Guelph in 1954.[2]

CBC

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On the advice of one of his colleagues in Guelph, he auditioned to work at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). After his audition was over, Robertson thought, "I'm never going to see this building again.[2]" Despite this, he got hired by the CBC, thanks to his bass voice. Robertson applied for CBWT-TV in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1956, his first-ever TV job.[2] He mostly did local television until December 25, 1956, which was his first national broadcast.[2] After four years in Winnipeg, Robertson auditioned for CBOT-TV in Ottawa, Ontario. After two years, he moved to Toronto to host CBC Weekend in the late 1960s, and later anchor of The National from 1970 to 1976, before joining the CTV Television Network in October that year.[7]

Robertson said he left the CBC because union rules prevented news anchors from writing scripts, selecting stories, or reporting in the field, responsibilities he wanted to undertake as a journalist.[8]

CTV

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From 1976 to 1984, Robertson co-anchored the CTV National News with Harvey Kirck. When Kirck retired from the anchor desk in 1984, Robertson became the senior news anchor for CTV. Beginning in 2004, Robertson also served as one of the hosts of CTV's current affairs program W5, alternating with CTV's lead weekend anchor Sandie Rinaldo[9] until 2016.

In 2004 he guest starred in a brief cameo on the Saskatchewan filmed sitcom Corner Gas.

In February 2010, Robertson denied rumours of his impending retirement as a "work of fiction" during an appearance on Vancouver talk radio station CKNW.[10] However, during the July 8, 2010, broadcast of CTV National News, Robertson officially announced that he would leave the anchor chair during the latter half of 2011. Although he did not specify a date at the time, his final newscast was later scheduled for September 1, 2011. He stated that he would continue working in various capacities at the network and in public life,[11] including as a host of W5.[12] On September 1, 2011, after 41 years as a national news anchor at both the CBC and CTV, Robertson anchored CTV News for the final time. The newscast concluded with him reminiscing about the stories he had covered, including natural disasters and royal weddings, while describing his career as a rare privilege that had given him "a front row seat to history". He also thanked viewers for watching and supporting him over the years.[13]

Following his retirement as chief anchor, Robertson remained associated with CTV as a special correspondent while continuing other broadcasting projects.[8]

Post-CTV

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In 2017, Robertson became the host of The Walrus with Lloyd Robertson, a weekly program on Accessible Media Inc.'s AMI-audio service produced in partnership with The Walrus magazine. The program featured professionally narrated readings of essays, fiction, poetry, and other selections from the magazine, with Robertson introducing each episode. Robertson continued to host the program until 2020.[14][15]

Also in 2020, he narrated a portion of the 8th Canadian Screen Awards.[16]

Personal life and death

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Robertson married his high school sweetheart, Nancy Barrett, in July 1956.[17] The couple had four daughters—Lisa, Nancy, Susan, and Lynda—and seven grandchildren.[11]

On March 29, 2018, Robertson was involved in a multi-vehicle collision on the Don Valley Parkway. He was uninjured."[18]

Robertson died on August 4, 2026, at the age of 92.[19]

Broadcasting longevity

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When Robertson retired from the CTV National News anchor desk in 2011, his combined 41 years anchoring national newscasts for CBC and CTV constituted the longest tenure of any national network news anchor in North America.[17] His tenure included six years anchoring CBC's The National and 35 years anchoring CTV National News.[20] By comparison, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw each spent approximately 22 years as national news anchors, while Dan Rather anchored the CBS Evening News for 24 years. Robertson was 77 when he presented his final CTV National News broadcast on September 1, 2011.[21]

Honours

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References

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  1. ↑ Iorfida, Chris (August 4, 2026). "Veteran Canadian broadcaster Lloyd Robertson dead at 92". CBC News. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Lloyd Robertson: And That's The Kind of Life It's Been on YouTube
  3. 1 2 3 Szklarski, Cassandra (October 16, 2012). "Lloyd Robertson memoir recounts painful youth, CBC clashes, rise through TV news". Global News. The Canadian Press. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  4. ↑ "The view from the anchor chair: Lloyd Robertson on his life". October 13, 2012. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Patch, Nick (August 28, 2011). "Lloyd Robertson prepares to end record-breaking run as national news anchor". Global News. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  6. ↑ Robertson, Lloyd. The Kind of Life It's Been. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., 2012.
  7. ↑ Gittins, Susan (1999). CTV: The Television Wars. Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited. pp. 118. ISBN 0-7737-3125-3.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Crawley, Mike (August 4, 2026). "Lloyd Robertson, longtime anchor of Canada's top TV newscast, dies at 92". CBC News. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  9. ↑ W-FIVE Launches Its 39th Season With Shocking Police Footage How Canadians Lost $44 Million To Debit Card Fraud Archived July 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, CTV press release, December 15, 2004; accessed July 9, 2010
  10. ↑ "Lloyd Robertson says retirement rumours 'fiction'". February 16, 2010. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  11. 1 2 Hampson, Sarah (August 24, 2011). "Lloyd Robertson isn't exactly retiring". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  12. ↑ Ryan, Andrew (July 8, 2010). "Lloyd Robertson announces retirement". The Globe and Mail. Toronto: The Woodbridge Company. ISSN 0319-0714. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  13. ↑ Johnson, Andy; Janus, Andrea (September 1, 2011). "Lloyd Robertson signs off for final time". CTV News. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  14. ↑ "The Walrus with Lloyd Robertson premieres on AMI-audio" (Press release). Accessible Media Inc. May 23, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Voices of The Walrus". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Virtual Presentations, Hosts". academy.ca. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  17. 1 2 Rose, Larry D. (August 6, 2026). "Veteren CTV broadcaster 'changed the landscape of television news'". The Globe and Mail. Toronto: The Woodbridge Company. pp. A1, A4. ISSN 0319-0714. Retrieved August 10, 2026 – via PressReader.
  18. ↑ 'I'm still standing': Lloyd Robertson involved in multi-vehicle highway crash, CTV News, March 29, 2018
  19. ↑ Otis, Daniel (August 4, 2026). "Former CTV News chief anchor Lloyd Robertson dies at 92". CTV News. Toronto: Bell Media. Archived from the original on August 5, 2026. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
  20. ↑ Hilty, Gabriel (August 5, 2026). "Veteren news anchor had 'unwavering belief in people'". Toronto Star. Torstar. pp. A1, A7. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved August 10, 2026 – via PressReader.
  21. ↑ Patch, Nick (September 1, 2011). "Lloyd Robertson ends 41-year run as national news anchor". Global News. Toronto: Corus Entertainment. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on December 6, 2025. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
  22. ↑ Fraser, Marie. "Recipients of Canada's Scot of the Year Award". Electric Scotland. Archived from the original on May 31, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
  23. ↑ "Lloyd Robertson – Senate". carleton.ca. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  24. ↑ Prashad, Sach (April 21, 2026). "Knox College announces the recipients for the degree Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) for 2026". Knox College, Canada. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Knox College Convocation Ceremony 2026". www.google.com. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
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