This is a page that turns to TVA. Host Pierre Bruneau announced his retirement on Thursday. After more than 45 years as an anchor, the 69-year-old says he wants “a little shade” to “enjoy life” with his family.
Posted at 5:40 p.m.
Updated at 6:11 p.m.
“For a long time, I have thought about retirement. I had actually decided on a date a few years ago, but the pandemic of the past two years and now the war in Ukraine have delayed the process. However, I believe that the time has come. I informed the management of TVA that I was going to leave at the end of the year,” said Mr. Bruneau, in a speech held live on television.
However, he will continue to host the end-of-day bulletins until next summer, and will return this fall to ensure the moderation of the leaders’ debates and the election evening in sight in Quebec.
Mr. Bruneau assures that he still has “a passion for the profession”. “Coming to work for me has never been a chore. On the contrary, it is a daily pleasure. But after 45 years in the spotlight of TVA, 50 years of journalism, I feel like a little shade, to enjoy life with Ginette and mine. I have health and even more, I have simple happiness in my life,” he summed up.
By the way, the host thanked the viewers at home “for so much loyalty”. “It is a privilege to have been welcomed into your home for all these years, generation after generation,” he underlined, also thanking his colleagues from the TVA network.
For the future, the main interested party will remain spokesperson for the Charles-Bruneau Foundation, whose mission is to provide all children with cancer with the best chance of recovery. His successor as anchor should be identified soon, but no date has yet been set. “There is a very good succession in our team”, however slipped on this subject the host, during his speech held during the news bulletin.
A shower of reactions
Pierre Bruneau became known to the public in 1972, as a journalist on CFDA radio in Victoriaville. He was also a journalist for several years at CKAC radio in Montreal. He has hosted the news bulletins of the TVA network since the end of the 1970s.
His retirement quickly made many people react online, including the Premier of Quebec, François Legault. Quebecers will miss Pierre Bruneau. “After 46 years of career, we can say that it is a deserved retirement. Thank you for keeping Quebec informed all these years,” he tweeted shortly after the news broke.
“What a career! An anchor for 46 years and the recipient of 26 Artis trophies, he received many other distinctions, including the medal of the Order of Montreal in 2020. Congratulations, ”also offered him the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante. “Being interviewed or debated by Pierre Bruneau was a great privilege. Thank you again and again, ”also wrote the Bloc leader, Yves-François Blanchet.
“Respected by his peers, Pierre Bruneau has forged a bond of trust with Quebecers. Pierre, it was a privilege to count you in the large Quebecor family for 46 years. Thank you for your passion and your professionalism”, also indicated the president of the TVA group, Pierre Karl Péladeau.