Andy Barrie, (born January 30, 1945) is an

American Canadian American Canadians are Canadians of American descent. The term is most often used to refer to Canadians who migrated from or have ancestry from the United States. Demography According to the 2016 Census, 29,590 Canadians reported American as ...

radio personality most known for his work at

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

radio stations, first at CFRB and later as host of ''

Metro Morning Metro Morning is CBC Radio One's local morning program in Toronto, airing on CBLA-FM. The program airs from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. weekday mornings, and has frequently been Toronto's highest-rated radio program in its timeslot. The program is c ...

'' on

CBLA-FM CBLA-FM (99.1 MHz) is a non-commercial Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the station is the flagship station of the CBC Radio One network, broadcasting a mix of news and talk ...

from 1995 until his retirement on March 1, 2010.

Early life

Born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Barrie moved with his family to

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

in 1952, where he attended public schools, going on to major in theater at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of Eng ...

. Barrie first got involved with radio while a student at Dartmouth, and after graduation he began a career in radio:

WCCC-FM WCCC (106.9 FM) – branded ''K-Love'' – is a non-commercial contemporary Christian radio station licensed to serve Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation, WCCC does not broadcast any local programming, function ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, WAYE in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and WASH-FM, then a Metromedia station in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. Given

Conscientious Objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

status by his local draft board during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, Barrie trained as a combat medic. In 1969, he received orders to be shipped to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. A conversation with his brother, a career officer who had just returned from two years there, confirmed Barrie's decision to

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

and leave the U.S. for Canada. He later received a

general discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, became a Canadian citizen, and is free to travel to the U.S.

Career in radio

Barrie was introduced to

CJAD CJAD (800 AM) is a commercial radio station operating in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The station has an English language news/talk radio format and identifies itself on-air as ''CJAD 800''. Owned and operated by Bell Media, it has a daytime power ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, and when one of the station's long-time commentators resigned in protest during the

October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James C ...

of 1970, Barrie was named as his replacement. In 1977, he moved to

and a job at CFRB, where his commentaries won him an ACTRA award. He also worked briefly as an anchor and reporter for the

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...

. In 1995, he was invited to join

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

as the host of

's morning drive-time show, ''

'', in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, the talk and current affairs program that became the top-rated morning radio show in Toronto. On June 29, 2007 Barrie revealed to his listeners that he had been diagnosed with early-stage

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. Barrie said he intended to continue as a broadcaster for at least another three years. On February 1, 2010 he announced his retirement from ''Metro Morning''. Barrie's last day as host was Thursday, February 25, 2010. He was succeeded by

Matt Galloway Matt Galloway (born 1970/1971) is a Canadian radio personality, who debuted in January 2020 as the host of '' The Current'' on CBC Radio One. Previously, he was the host of ''Metro Morning'' on the network's Toronto station CBLA-FM from 2010 to 2 ...

. June 16, 2010, Barrie was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Toronto's York University. On December 30, 2012, it was announced that Barrie was admitted to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

for his achievements in Canadian broadcasting, and for his advocacy on behalf of those living with Parkinson's disease.

Personal life

Andy Barrie was married in 1970 to Dr. Mary Cone Barrie, who retired in 2005 as the director of the School of Continuing Studies at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. Their daughter Jessie also has a doctorate in educational leadership and is the head of Bosque School, an independent school for students in grades 6-12, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mary Cone Barrie died on February 18, 2009. Barrie took a leave of absence from the CBC from November 2008 to March 2009 to care for her during her illness.

References

External links

Former Metro Morning host Andy Barrie battles Parkinson’s with brain surgery, ''Toronto Star'', September 2014Andy Barrie: The Voice - documentary by Lana Šlezić
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrie, Andy Living people 1945 births American emigrants to Canada Canadian radio reporters and correspondents American conscientious objectors Dartmouth College alumni Dartmouth College alumni missing graduation year Radio personalities from Baltimore People from Yonkers, New York Canadian television reporters and correspondents Canadian talk radio hosts CBC Radio hosts Members of the Order of Canada People with Parkinson's disease Naturalized citizens of Canada Vietnam War draft evaders