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CTV news anchor Lloyd Robertson rehearses his news cast before going live on air at CTV headquarters in Scarborough, Ont., in 2011. The legendary news anchor died Tuesday evening at the age of 92.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
In his very first radio broadcast in his hometown of Stratford, Ont., nervous young announcer Lloyd Robertson intoned, “This is CJCS Strat-herd.” Despite that early stumble Mr. Robertson went on to become a Canadian icon – one of the best known and most admired broadcasters in the nation’s history.
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John Cosway of the Globe and Mail being interviewed by Mr. Robertson of the CBC in Toronto in 1962.John Boyd/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Robertson was a national television news anchor for an astounding 41 years, including 34 years as host of CTV National News With Lloyd Robertson, plus an earlier stint on CTV with co-anchor Harvey Kirck, and before that six years on CBC’s The National. Mr. Robertson also did travel specials, including Lloyd Robertson in China. In 2012, he published a bestselling autobiography, The Kind of Life It’s Been.
Mr. Robertson died Tuesday evening at the age of 92, according to a report from CTV News, which cited confirmation from his family.
Mr. Robertson’s longevity as a national anchor is unsurpassed in both Canada and the United States, including by such American stalwarts as Walter Cronkite of CBS News. Former CBC News anchor Peter Mansbridge said Mr. Roberson’s decades of work “changed the landscape of television news.”
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Former governor-general Romeo LeBlanc (right) shakes hands with Mr. Robertson (left) after presenting him with the Order of Canada in Ottawa in 1998.Jonathan Hayward/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Robertson won armloads of awards, while TV Guide magazine, an earlier “bible” of television programming, proclaimed him Canada’s “most trusted news anchor” 11 years in a row. He was invested as an officer of the Order of Canada in 1998.
Mr. Robertson was courted as a potential political candidate by more than one party, while in 2003 he was offered a Senate appointment. All entreaties were declined.
Lloyd John Robertson was born in Stratford on Jan. 19, 1934. His father, George, a Canadian National Railway machinist’s helper, had eight children with his first wife. After her death, he married Lilly Francis and they had two sons, George Junior and Lloyd.
Mr. Robertson endured a painful childhood, with his mother suffering bouts of severe mental illness. After other treatments failed, she was given a frontal lobotomy, a now discredited treatment. In his autobiography, Mr. Robertson wrote, “Her condition has haunted me all of my life.”
Mr. Robertson had been fascinated by radio from his earliest years and was able to get a job at CJCS in Stratford while still in high school. In July, 1954, at the age of 20, he was hired as an announcer at CBC Radio in Windsor.
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Robert Turnbull being interviewed by Mr. Robertson of the CBC, in the Globe and Mail offices in Toronto, in 1962.John Boyd/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Robertson’s obvious star power and superb broadcast voice led him to a series of increasingly important on-air positions at CBC, culminating with his being named host of CBC Television’s flagship broadcast, The National, between 1970 and 1976.
It was a period of dramatic change in the industry, but also a time of turmoil within the CBC. Until that time, CBC News announcers merely read – but could not change – news scripts. CBC management and Mr. Robertson wanted him to be both a journalist and an announcer, a formula that was being widely adopted by American television networks.
In 1972, Mr. Robertson found himself entangled in what he called “Byzantine bureaucratic turmoil” at CBC and then a union strike. He tried to intervene personally to help settle the issues, including his role as a news anchor – but, in the event, he suffered a bout of nervous exhaustion.
Mr. Robertson became convinced that there would be a continuing union challenge to him if he remained at CBC. That led to the greatest gamble of his career, the 1976 decision to jump to upstart CTV, where he would be both journalist and announcer. The event was front page news.
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Mr. Robertson, left, joins Harvey Kirck to co-anchor the CTV National News on Oct. 14, 1976. When Mr. Kirck retired in 1983, Mr. Robertson became the network’s senior news anchor.
Mr. Robertson agonized about the decision for years afterward, but one newspaper article concluded that the move showed how tough he really could be. Toronto Star journalist Sid Adilman wrote that, appearances aside, “there is steel underneath there somewhere.”
At the time, CTV News was a small organization and, initially, Mr. Robertson was co-anchor with Harvey Kirck. However, in 1984 Mr. Kirck retired, and Mr. Robertson took over. (Mr. Kirck died in 2002.) Mr. Robertson was appointed chief anchor and senior editor.
Mr. Robertson covered news events including the 1970 October Crisis, Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope, the fall of the Berlin wall, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, both the 1980 and 1995 Quebec referendums, the Gulf War, and – fighting a brutal flu bug – the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama. The most memorable event, he said, was the historic American moon landing on July 20, 1969. He also hosted Olympic broadcasts, including those in Calgary, Vancouver, and Barcelona.
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Prime Minister Jean Chretien (left), CTV’s Canada AM host Valerie Pringle and CTV’s News anchorman Mr. Robertson participate in a live launch of CTV’s new 24-hour news channel in Toronto in 1997.John Lehmann/The Canadian Press
Mr. Robertson interviewed Canadian prime ministers from Lester Pearson to Stephen Harper. He covered 14 federal election campaigns, for each one mastering thick binders of information about candidates, parties, ridings, and issues. Former broadcast executive Howard Bernstein said Mr. Robertson’s seemingly effortless work on election nights revealed his “prodigious memory for facts.”
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Mr. Robertson during a CTV National news story meeting in 2001.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Election broadcasts and other live events often brought potential chaos with them. A dozen reporters, editors or producers might be vying for attention while developments changed by the minute. Mr. Robertson invariably remained unruffled through it all. Former CTV senior vice-president Dennis McIntosh, who died earlier this year, said in a 2025 interview, “Lloyd saved us, time after time, after time.”
Mr. Robertson continued as chief anchor and news editor, with CTV National News dominating ratings. In the book CTV: The Television Wars, author Susan Gittins writes that in 1995-96, for example, CTV National News averaged 1.3 million viewers per night compared to 1.1 million for CBC. National news telecasts today have significantly lower ratings because of fractured viewership and the switch to streaming services.
Mr. Robertson retired in September, 2011, and was succeeded by Lisa LaFlamme. Ms. LaFlamme said, “Lloyd cared about people. He had a passion for the truth and a true sense of justice. He always encouraged me and literally gave me his chair. I will be forever grateful.” Mr. Robertson was outraged in 2022 when CTV owner Bell Media dropped Ms. LaFlamme as CTV National News anchor.
Former CTV Ottawa bureau chief Craig Oliver, a close friend, commented in an interview some years ago, “What you see is what you get. There are no deep secrets hidden in dark corners, no wingy eccentricities. It’s not him. I mean, he’s just a really solid guy. It absolutely is part of his appeal.”
Despite his celebrity, in person Mr. Robertson was much as he appeared on television: likeable, easy to meet, and without a big ego. He gleefully enjoyed skewering himself on the CBC’s Air Farce and other shows.
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Mr. Robertson gestures to producers as he takes his seat for his penultimate newscast on Sept. 1, 2011.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Former CTV News president Wendy Freeman said that, among his other contributions to broadcasting, Mr. Robertson was a leader in advancing the careers of women. She recalled that Mr. Robertson would loudly greet her in the newsroom by saying, “Hello, boss,” as a way of declaring to everyone that she was in charge. Mr. Robertson played an important role in the handover to Ms. LaFlamme.
Mr. Robertson married Nancy Barrett, a high school sweetheart, in 1956. The couple went on to have four daughters. Mr. Robertson is survived by his wife, and daughters Lisa, Nanci, Susan, and Lynda, their spouses and seven grandchildren.
His daughters, in a written group commentary for this article, recalled an ordinary dad “in plaid robe and tired slippers.” However, they recognized their father’s “standard for excellence.” They added, “pretentious, he was not,” citing wieners and beans as his all-time favourite meal.
Each broadcast of CTV National News ended with Mr. Robertson’s signature closing: “That’s the kind of day it’s been. For all of us at CTV News, goodnight.” To which, over the decades, millions and millions of admiring Canadians across the country replied, “Good night, Lloyd” and turned out the lights.
Larry D. Rose is a former producer of CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson. He worked at CTV News for 24 years.
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