Network: CTV Television Network
Broadcast Run: 1972 to 2016
Broadcast Medium: Television
While CTV had its critics over the years for what was perceived to be a lack of meaningful Canadian programming, there is no question that the network took a major leadership role in creating what quickly
became Canada’s most successful morning news/interview show ever.
Within months of it coming on the air in 1972, it pushed NBC’s Today Show into second place as Canada’s choice of morning information viewing in homes – and particularly in hotels – across the country.
CTV had taken an unsuccessful stab at a news-oriented daily morning show before,with the short-lived Bright and Early (q.v.) in 1966-67. Now, with added resources, CTV had the potential of recapturing a significant television audience who hitherto had had only had US morning programming of this kind to watch. Another plus for the affiliates was the provision of 7 ½ hours of Canadian programming a week in their schedules, which they could offset with five hours of U.S. programming while maintaining their required balance of Canadian to foreign programming.
Canada AM launched on September 11th 1972, with former CBC weatherman Percy Saltzman and Toronto television personality Carole Taylo76 season. Then, in the fall of 1983, the start time was moved up to 6:30am, to provide a 2½ hour daily block of news, weather, interviews and lifestyle items from a Canadian point of view.
By then the program had gone through several changes in hosts, and the turnover continued as the strain of early-hours wakeup calls and disrupted family lives took its toll on even the hardiest souls. Carole Taylor and Percy Saltzman gave way to Helen Hutchinson and Norm Perry, and in subsequent years the program’s hosts included Linda McClennan, Gail Scott, Pamela Wallin, Nancy Wilson, Keith Morrison, J.D. Roberts, Dan Matheson, Rod Black, Valerie Pringle, LisaLaFlamme, Beverly Thomson, Jeff Hutcheson and Seamus O’Regan.
Marci Ien from CTV Newsnet added the Canada AM news anchor role to her duties in 2003, replacing Leslie Jones.
Canada AM had its own dedicated studios at the network’s headquarters in Toronto, but drew on correspondents and contributors from across the country and around the world. In September 2007 it celebrated 35 years on the air, and showed no signs of slowing down.
Starting on January 28th, 2008, Canada AM began broadcasting live in each time zone. This meant providing six hours of live programming, and involved the establishment of a Western anchor team to work out of a new Canada AM studio in Vancouver. Mi-Jung Lee joined the program as a co-anchor, with Reena Heer hired to do weather and special reports, and Omar Sachedina to do newscasts.
This experiment was ended on June 9th, when the program reverted to a 3-hour package which ran live in the east and was delayed to local time zones elsewhere.
On November 8, 2011, CTV announced that Canada AM host Seamus O’Regan would bid a final good morning to viewers across the country on Thursday November 28th, and would join CTV National News as a Correspondent, effective Monday November 28th. O’Regan had already been putting his story-telling skills to use on the CTV National News series “Canadian Originals”, profiling everyday Canadians from all walks of life.
On November 24th, it was announced that Marci Ien would be Seamus O’Regan’s successor on Canada AM, taking on her new role Jan. 9th 2012, following maternity leave. Friday, Nov. 24 was O’Regan’s last day at Canada AM.
Canada AM celebrated four decades of waking up Canadians with a special week of retrospective programming from Monday, Oct. 22 to Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. The series continued through the 2012-2013 season, and was renewed for the 2013-14 season.
As of February 2014, the three regular hosts were Jeff Hutcheson, Beverly Tomson and Marci Ien.
On June 2nd 2016, CTV made a surprise announcement that, after a 43-year run, Canada AM would end the following morning. An announcement regarding its replacement would be forthcoming the following week. At the time of the announcement, CTV offered the following list of the program’s hosts over the years:
— Dennis McIntosh (co-host 1972-1973)
— Carole Taylor (co-host 1972-1973)
— Percy Saltzman (meteorologist 1972-1974, dubbed Canada’s “first” weatherman)
— Helen Hutchinson (co-host 1973-1979)
— Pierre Pascal (co-host 1974)
— Elaine Callei (co-host 1974)
— Norm Perry (co-host 1974-1990 — longest serving male co-host)
— Wally Macht (news, weather and sports anchor 1977-1987)
— Gail Scott (co-host 1978-1981)
— Sandie Rinaldo (news anchor 1980-1985)
— Pamela Wallin (co-host 1981-1984 and 1991-1992)
— Ann Rohmer (features reporter 1984-1986)
— Linda MacLennan (co-host 1985-1987)
— Tom Clark (news anchor 1986-1987)
— Nancy Wilson (co-host 1987-1988)
— Terrilyn Joe (news anchor 1987-1991)
— Dan Matheson (sports anchor 1987-1995 and co-host 1995-2001)
— Deborah McGregor (co-host 1989-1991)
— J.D. Roberts (co-host 1990-1992)
— Thalia Assuras (news anchor 1992-1993)
— Keith Morrison (co-host 1992-1995)
— Rod Black (sports anchor 1993-1997 and co-host 2001-02)
— Wei Chen (news anchor 1993-1998)
— Valerie Pringle (co-host 1993-2001)
— Rob Faulds (sports anchor 1996-1998)
— Leslie Jones (news anchor 1998-2002)
— Lisa LaFlamme (co-host 2001-2003)
— Seamus O’Regan (co-host 2002-2011)
— Omar Sachedina, Mi-Jung Lee and Rena Heer (co-hosts “Canada AM Extended Version” 2008)
— Jeff Hutcheson (weather and sports anchor 1998-2016)
— Marci Ien (news anchor 2003-2011 and co-host 2011-2016)
— Beverly Thomson (co-host 2003-2016
On June 6th 2016, CTV annnounced that a new, daily, morning program from Bell Media In-House Productions, to be titled Your Morning, would premiere at the end of the summer. The network also reported that trusted news veteran Anne-Marie Mediwake and entertainment journalist Ben Mulroney would host the series. The start date for Your Morning was later set for August 22nd 2016.
The series continued for the next two years, and on June 6th 2019 the Network confirmed that Your Morning would be returning for the 2019-2010 season.