Lifetime Achievement Award Video Gallery

2021 CJF Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Thaioronióhte Dan David received The Canadian Journalism Foundation’s (CJF) 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of launching the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network’s (APTN) news service, the world’s first national Indigenous-led news network and for his life-long support of journalism initiatives around the world.

“After centuries in which the stories and reality of Indigenous people were oppressed, we Canadians are now living in a time where those realities and those stories are finally being told,” says selection jury member Hamlin Grange, a veteran broadcast journalist, now principal consultant of DiversiPro. “Dan David, as founding head of APTN news, played a key role in making this possible. To set up the news arm of APTN, Dan sought out, trained and mentored Indigenous journalists. He was ahead of the curve in considering journalism’s role in human rights and reconciliation with First Nations people. His work internationally and with journalism students are examples of his commitment to journalism, his impact on the industry and society.”

David is Kanienke:haka (Mohawk), Bear Clan, based in Kanehsatà:ke near Oka, Que. Prior to the 2000 launch of Winnipeg-based APTN news, he helped transform the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation from a government-controlled broadcaster into a public news service before the country’s first democratic elections—a formative experience that would help shape his views on the role of journalism. Later, he became head of television journalism at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in Johannesburg.

Before moving to South Africa, he worked across Canada with CBC Radio and TV, becoming the first national Native Affairs broadcaster. He also worked as a producer at TVOntario and VisionTV.

David’s career also includes roles as Chair of Diversity at Ryerson University’s School of Journalism; researcher/writer on a provincial justice inquiry and a royal commission, both examining Canada’s broken relationship with Indigenous peoples; two National Magazine Awards and serving on the boards of various Indigenous arts, journalism and literary organizations. After he returned to Canada from South Africa to launch APTN news, he continued to help train journalists in Indonesia and Azerbaijan. Currently, he works with Journalists for Human Rights on a training program in Kenya sponsored by APTN.

Watch the tribute video and see his acceptance speech below.

2020 CJF Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Kim Bolan, the investigative reporter who covers gangs and organized crime for the Vancouver Sun, received the CJF Lifetime Achievement Award at the CJF Awards virtual ceremony on June 11, in recognition of her fearless commitment to truth in the face of threats and intimidation.

“Her career reads like a fast-paced crime novel, filled with murders, massive drug busts, international terrorists, and death threats to a dogged, unstoppable heroine,” says Lou Clancy, visiting scholar of journalism outreach at University of Toronto’s Massey College, principal of LJM Strategies and a member of the jury that selected Bolan.

Bolan has covered a range of stories in her 36 years with the Sun but is best known for her courageous reporting on some of biggest criminal cases in Canadian history, including the 1985 Air India bombing. She was placed under police protection while investigating the bombing and another time for threats received from criminal biker gangs. In addition to reporting, she blogs about her life covering crime on The Real Scoop.

Her work has taken her to wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central America and to northern India to expose the roots of the extremism that led to the Air India bombing. She is the author of the award-winning book Loss of Faith: How the Air India Bombers Got Away with Murder. She is also a journalism Instructor at Vancouver’s Langara College where she teaches media and the law, and investigative reporting.

Bolan has won or been shortlisted for more than 35 provincial, national and international journalism honours. Her many awards include the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Courage in Journalism Award and the inaugural Press Freedom Award.

Watch the tribute video and see her acceptance speech below.

2019 CJF Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

John Honderich, chair of Torstar Corporation, the parent company of the Toronto Star and numerous city and community newspapers, was the recipient of the CJF Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of a distinguished career committed to excellence and integrity in journalism and advocating for its importance as part of civil society. He was honoured at the annual CJF Awards on June 13 in Toronto.

Honderich has been chair of Torstar Corporation, publisher of more than 80 newspapers, since 2009 continuing a notable career in media and publishing. After being admitted to the Ontario bar, Honderich turned his back on the legal profession and joined the Ottawa Citizen as a copy boy in 1973. In 1976, he moved to the Toronto Star’s Ottawa bureau, later becoming its chief. He went on to head the Star’s Washington Bureau before returning to Toronto as deputy city editor and then business editor and editorial page editor before becoming editor-in-chief from 1988-1994 and publisher from 1994-2004.

Honderich’s steadfast advocacy of journalism’s critical role in a healthy democracy as well as his extensive community service garnered him appointments to the Order of Canada (2004) and the Order of Ontario (2006). He helped lead the campaign to secure assistance for journalism announced in the last federal budget.

Among his many community service ventures was a Special Ambassador for the Mayor of Toronto on Urban Issues and then Special Adviser to the Premier of Ontario on the future of the Greater Toronto Area. However, one of his proudest achievements, a paean to Canada, was visiting all 40-plus National Parks, including those in extremely remote Arctic regions, during the Canadian sesquicentennial. Watch the tribute and his acceptance speech below.

2018 CJF Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Peter Mansbridge, the longtime anchor of CBC’s The National, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual CJF Awards on June 14 in Toronto,​​​​​ for a remarkable broadcast career in which he served as a constant evening fixture in homes across the country.

Mansbridge wrapped up his five-decade career with the CBC last year, after serving as anchor for 29 years on its flagship news program. He also served as the chief correspondent of CBC News, anchored all CBC News specials and hosted the interview show Mansbridge: One on One.

Mansbridge began his career in 1968 in Fort Churchill, Man., where he helped develop CBC Radio’s news service to Northern Canada. His radio career continued in Winnipeg before he joined CBC television as a reporter. He went on to become The National’s reporter in Saskatchewan, then a parliamentary correspondent in Ottawa before being appointed chief correspondent and anchor in 1988.

During his award-winning career, he has anchored coverage of major Canadian and international events, including the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and 34 Canada Day celebrations. He covered every federal election since 1972.

Watch the video honouring Mansbridge’s career. View his acceptance speech below.

2017 CJF Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Jean Pelletier, currently senior director of television current affairs and documentaries for Radio-Canada, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of an extraordinary career as a reporter, editor, producer and journalism trailblazer—in both print and broadcast. As La Presse’s first permanent correspondent in Washington, D.C., Pelletier uncovered the story of the 1980 dramatic escape from Iran of six U.S. diplomats who were hidden by Canadian embassy staff during the hostage crisis in Tehran.

From field reporting, he transitioned to editor-in-chief of Radio-Canada’s TV public affairs program Le Point and served in the same role at the flagship news show Téléjournal before becoming head of news at Radio-Canada (television). He was promoted to senior director of public affairs and documentaries and in 2012, took on the role of senior director of television current affairs and documentaries.

Together with CBC’s Mark Starowicz, Pelletier headed a CBC/Radio-Canada cross-cultural programming initiative from 2003 to 2010 that resulted in a major documentary series covering different strands of Canada’s history. In 2007, he created the investigative journalism program Enquête, which was the first to shed light on corruption and collusion in Quebec’s construction industry, revelations that eventually led to the creation of the Charbonneau Commission in 2011. Enquête also broke the story of alleged police abuse of Indigenous women in Val d’Or, Que.

Watch the introduction by Michel Cormier and the video honouring Pelletier’s career. Watch his acceptance speech below:

2016 CJF Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Lloyd Robertson, the longtime anchor of CTV National News, was honoured with The Canadian Journalism Foundation’s (CJF) Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual CJF Awards on June 16 in Toronto. Robertson’s broadcasting career spans more than five decades. Currently host and chief correspondent for W5, CTV’s investigative news program, Robertson joined CTV in 1976. He held the title of chief anchor and senior editor with CTV National News for 35 years. View the video tribute and his acceptance speech (below).

2015 CJF Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Michel Auger, longtime crime reporter with Le Journal de Montréal,  accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 CJF Awards. View the video tribute and his acceptance speech (below). View the Salut Bonjour interview with Auger.

The 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Peter Bregg, a photojournalist who has captured some of journalism’s most compelling images, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 17^th Annual Canadian Journalism Foundation Awards on June 4 in Toronto. View the video tribute:

Promoted by The Canadian Press from copy boy to photographer when he turned 19, Bregg has—over the past five decades­—travelled to more than 70 countries covering stories both large and small. View samples from his recent work and his archives. View his acceptance speech:

2013 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Michael Maclear, a broadcast journalist, war correspondent, and independent filmmaker, was the CBC’s first Far East correspondent, reporting extensively from South Vietnam and, as CBC’s London correspondent, was the only Western network journalist permitted to film in North Vietnam. Maclear was also CTV’s first foreign correspondent, based in London.

Michael Maclear tribute, 2013

Introduction to Michael Maclear, by Morley Safer, 2013

2013 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Jack Sigvaldason, who has worked in the North as a reporter, editor and publisher for more than 40 years, was honoured at the 2013 CJF Awards. He is the publisher of Northern News Services, whose newspapers cover 63 communities and serves 60,000 people in the NWT and Nunavut.

Jack Sigvaldason acceptance speech, 2012

Jack Sigvaldason tribute, 2012

Patrick Brown acceptance speech, 2011

Lise Bissonnette acceptance speech, 2010

Lise Bissonnette tribute, 2010

Joe Schlesinger acceptance speech, 2009

Joe Schlesinger tribute, 2009

Sally Armstrong acceptance speech, 2008

Sally Armstrong tribute, 2008

Norman Webster acceptance speech, 2007

Norman Webster tribute, 2007

Knowlton Nash acceptance speech, 2006

Knowlton Nash tribute, 2006

Pierre Berton, 2005 (posthumous)

Pierre Berton tribute, 2005

June Callwood acceptance speech, 2004

June Callwood tribute, 2004

The annual Canadian Journalism Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding lifetime contribution to journalism in Canada. These recipients have demonstrated, throughout their careers, a commitment to the highest journalistic standards and ideals. Their work and contributions to the field and society have served as models that inspire excellence in others.

The Canadian Journalism Foundation is
working for better journalism.