Signing off in April
Bruce Rainnie leaving CBC P.E.I.’s Compass later this spring
Bruce and Boomer are the mainstays of P.E.I.’s supper hour newscast, but one half of the duo will be leaving the show in two months. Bruce Rainnie, the anchor of CBC News: Compass, announced he will be leaving the broadcast on April 28. Rainnie, a Dartmouth, N.S., native, has accepted the position of executive director for the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in Halifax.
“It’s with mixed emotions because I have loved every minute of hosting Compass,” Rainnie told TC Media shortly after making the announcement on the air Thursday night.
“This place has embraced me like any home ever would.” Rainnie, who has been with CBC since 1995, took over for Roger Younker in the Compass anchor chair on Nov. 19, 2003. Over that time, viewers have watched his easy chemistry with the show’s long-time weatherman, Kevin (Boomer) Gallant.
“One of the reasons I wanted to come here was because I wanted to work with him. We’ve really grown into best buddies over the years.”
Rainnie will turn 50 this year and will move to Nova Scotia along with his wife, entertainer Kendra MacGillivray, and their two sons, Mark, 10, and Alistair, 5. His brother, Matt Rainnie, hosts CBC P.E.I.’s Island Morning.
While he is leaving Compass behind, he hopes to maintain a relationship with broadcasting through CBC Sports. Rainnie has broadcast from the Olympics and Hockey Night in Canada, among other events.
As for his viewers — who Rainnie said have never made him feel like a “come from away” — he hopes people have enjoyed watching him as much as he has enjoyed broadcasting for them.