Isabel Bassett (born August 23, 1939) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

broadcaster and former

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. From 1999 until 2005 she was the chair and CEO of

TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

TFO TFO is a Canadian French language educational television channel and media organization serving the province of Ontario. It is owned by the Ontario French-language Educational Communications Authority (OTELFO), a Crown corporation owned by the ...

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 ...

's provincial

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

network. She has been a controversial figure at times, but is also a highly regarded pioneer in Canadian broadcasting.

Background

Bassett was born Isabel Glenthorne Macdonald in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. She received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from Queen's University and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in 1973. As well, she graduated from teacher's college and taught English and French at

Humberside Collegiate Institute Humberside Collegiate Institute (also known as Humberside CI, HCI, or Humberside), formerly known as Toronto Junction High School and Toronto Junction Collegiate Institute is a public high school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves the ...

. Bassett first entered Canadian public life as a journalist for the ''

Toronto Telegram ''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at the federal and the provincial levels. The paper competed wit ...

'' in the 1960s. She later joined CTV, where she became a prominent reporter and documentary producer, including a stint with '' W5'', after marrying

Baton Broadcasting Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

owner

John Bassett John White Hughes Bassett, (August 25, 1915 – April 27, 1998) was a Canadian media proprietor. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he was the son of John Bassett (1886–1958), publisher of the ''Montreal Gazette'', and Marion Avery (née Wright). ...

on July 17, 1967. Although her documentary work for CTV won numerous awards, she was sometimes accused of having been given her position solely because she was married to the owner. John Bassett died in 1998, and Isabel subsequently began a relationship with cabinet colleague

Ernie Eves Ernest Larry Eves (born June 17, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 23rd premier of Ontario from 2002 to 2003. A Progressive Conservative, he took over the premiership upon Mike Harris's resignation as party leade ...

. Bassett has also written a number of books on the political, social and historical achievements of Canadian women.

Politics

In the federal election of 1993, Bassett ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the

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 ...

riding of St. Paul's. She lost to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Barry Campbell Barry R. Campbell (born June 15, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, lobbyist and former politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 1997 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Life and career Campbell was born in Montrea ...

by over 15,000 votes. Bassett was elected in the provincial election of 1995, defeating

candidate

Carolyn Bennett Carolyn Ann Bennett (born December 20, 1950) is a Canadian physician and politician who has served as minister of mental health and addictions, and associate minister of health since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, she has repre ...

(later a federal

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

) by about 3,500 votes. She served as the Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for St. Andrew—St. Patrick for the next four years. On October 10, 1997, she was appointed Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation in the government of

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...

. Despite the Harris government's right-wing reputation, Bassett is a

Red Tory A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, most predominantly in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. This philosophy tends to favour ...

, and was one of the most socially progressive members of the Harris cabinet. In the 1999 provincial election, Bassett was defeated in the new provincial riding of St. Paul's by Liberal candidate Michael Bryant. She was one of several Toronto Progressive Conservatives defeated in the city due to the unpopularity of Harris' government.

Cabinet positions

TV Ontario

After the election, Bassett was appointed as head of

by Mike Harris. Her mandate was to refocus the network on educational programming; however, Bassett successfully found ways to ensure that the network's most popular non-educational programs, such as '' Saturday Night at the Movies'' and ''

Studio 2 ''Studio 2'' was a daily (weeknights) current affairs newsmagazine on TVOntario in Ontario, Canada. The show won several Gemini Awards, and was hosted by Steve Paikin and Paula Todd (who replaced original co-host Mary Hynes in the show's thir ...

'', could continue to air. Bassett's position again became controversial when Eves became

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...

in 2002, with media critics noting the potential

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

inherent in Bassett remaining as head of TVOntario while simultaneously in a

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

relationship with the provincial premier. However, Bassett was popular within TVOntario, and the controversy soon subsided. She remained chair and CEO of TVOntario until September 29, 2005, when the Liberal government of

Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearl ...

separated the two positions. Bassett's successors were film producer Peter O'Brian as chair, and former

Astral Media Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channels ...

executive Lisa de Wilde as CEO.

Honours

In 2016, she was made a member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...

. On June 30, 2016, Bassett was made a Member of the Order of Canada for "her community engagement and commitment to the advancement of women and public service, notably in educational broadcasting."

References

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassett, Isabel Living people 1939 births Canadian television reporters and correspondents Women government ministers of Canada Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Ontario People from Halifax, Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Queen's University at Kingston alumni TVO executives Women MPPs in Ontario Canadian women television journalists Canadian women chief executives York University alumni CTV Television Network people