Mansbridge promises low-key exit from anchor chair

Peter Mansbridge doesn’t want to make a fuss about leaving the anchor’s chair at CBC’s “The National.”

Nearly a year after telling viewers he planned to retire from the public broadcaster’s flagship program, the 68-yearold newsman who defined an era at CBC News plans to signoff for the final time with little fanfare.

“Don’t expect much,” he said in a recent interview. “I’ve never wanted it to be about me, this program.”

As Canada’s 150th celebration nears on Saturday, so does Mansbridge’s chosen date to say goodbye. The procession began last night when he delivered his final broadcast of “The National” from the CBC’s Toronto studio.

Carole MacNeil helms Thursday’s show, which will pay tribute to Mansbridge’s 50-year career, including almost 30 years as “The National” anchor. He’ll then return to the newscast one last time on Friday from Ottawa, before leading the CBC’s Canada Day broadcast at Parliament Hill.

Mansbridge’s storied journalism career was launched at 19 when he was plucked from an airport cargo job in Churchill, Man., after a CBC Radio manager heard his broadcast-ready voice over an intercom system.

Mansbridge was hired for a late-night spot on the local radio station and within a few years worked his way up to become a TV reporter. He moved to Ottawa as a parliamentary correspondent in 1976 and occasionally sat in for Knowlton Nash on “The National.” By 1988, Nash decided to step away from anchoring the broadcast to ensure Mansbridge didn’t leave the network.