Quebecers will have to give up their daily television appointment with anchor Pierre Bruneau, who will host his latest news bulletin on TVA on Thursday evening. From the crisis at Oka to the massacre at Polytechnique, including the attacks of September 11, 2001, the newscaster was for 46 years that familiar face, that comforting voice, capable of setting the record straight and reassuring viewers.
The host admits it straight away: it is this trust that Quebecers have placed in him – counting on him to accompany them through the good and the worst moments in history – that has allowed him to keep the flame burning. for his profession all these years. And even to delay his retirement.
“I had already made the decision to leave, but when the pandemic arrived, there was a need to reassure the population, […] to be present at such a difficult time for those who have followed me for so long”, explains the 70-year-old man in an interview.
He says he did his best to report the information as clearly as possible during this troubled period, while being that ear to listen to bereaved families. “Every day, we announced new deaths from COVID-19, he underlines. Behind these figures, there were families who wrote to me about their pain. It was difficult for these people, it touched me a lot”.
Then, war in Ukraine broke out. But this time, his decision to pass the torch was made. “It became very heavy for me. I am 70 years old, I know that I have less time left in front of me than there is behind. I think of all that I haven’t done, all that I am postponing. If I continue, I will never do it. It’s time to leave. I want to have time for myself, ”he says with determination, visibly serene with his decision.
Privileged witness
This strong bond woven with his audience will nevertheless miss him a lot, he admits. Just like the adrenaline of the network newsroom. He describes — again with passion — those many evenings when a major event required dropping the planned newscast to go on a special. “We killed the front page, we started on a new subject that we discovered at the same time as the viewers, he says. I will miss that adrenaline. It’s exhilarating! »
Above all, he considers himself “privileged” to have been at the forefront of the events that have marked the history of Quebec. The man who joined the Télé-Métropole (now TVA) team in 1976 lived through the Oka crisis of 1990 and the ice storm of 1998, the floods in Saguenay in 1996, the attacks of September 11, 2001 , the tragedy of Lac Mégantic in 2013, or the attack on the Great Mosque of Quebec in 2017. This is without mentioning the countless number of election nights he has hosted in the last five decades.
The Polytechnique massacre on December 6, 1989 remains the most significant event of his career. “At the beginning, I kept a cool head. A reporter was recounting the shots heard. And quickly, we are talking about 2 dead, then 4, 6, 8, 14 victims. Seeing the images of the parents arriving, I recognized this pain that I knew so well. For a moment, I almost slipped on the air, ”says the anchorman again with a hint of emotion in his voice. A year earlier, in 1988, he himself had lost his son Charles, who died of cancer at the age of 12.
This tragic event forged the man, but also the leader he has become. “I’m a guy with a head, but also a guy with a heart. […] Being a news anchor means reporting the facts with rigor, explaining the news, but it is also having compassion and knowing how to reassure people,” he insists.
These qualities have earned him 23 Artis trophies during his career. He has also received several other recognitions, including the Ordre national du Québec in 2008 and the Order of Canada in 2012. Last week, he received the medal of honor from the National Assembly.
VAT and nothing else
Honors that have not escaped the competition, which has repeatedly tried to convince Pierre Bruneau to leave TVA to embark on a new professional adventure.
Radio-Canada offered him a “golden bridge” twice, he recalls, in 1990 after the Aboriginal crisis and in 2001 after the September 11 attacks.
The host, however, remained faithful to his employer. “Coming to work was fun every day. TVA was my place. […] I was proud to have participated in making it the most listened to network in Quebec, to have contributed to building a code of ethics and great credibility on the channel. […] I also had the responsibility to stay for the loyal viewers and also for my bosses who have always shown me their trust. »
Although he is leaving TVA’s Téléjournal this week, Pierre Bruneau will briefly return to the air this fall to host the Face à face between party leaders as well as election night.
He does not rule out a few occasional appearances thereafter, however insisting on his need to find a little shade after so many years in the spotlight. In particular, he plans to celebrate his 50th anniversary with his wife Ginette in 2023, “somewhere in the world”. He also wishes to give even more of his time to the Charles-Bruneau Foundation, which remains his greatest source of pride, even before his extraordinary career.