Former Global News anchor Peter Trueman dies at 86

Former news anchor Peter Trueman passed away Friday at the age of 86.

Trueman was born on Dec. 25, 1934, in Sackville, N.B. He started his career working as a print reporter, and covered such stories as the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy for the Montreal Star.

“I was more cynical after that,” the late Trueman said previously. “I’ve never been able to look at any politician with much joy ever since.”

In 1970, Trueman moved into television and became executive producer of CBC’s flagship newscast The National during the FLQ Crisis. Four years later, he became the original anchor when Global Television first signed on in 1974.

Trueman was best known for his authoritative common sense approach to news and his commentaries were something Global viewers looked forward to. He would end each one by saying, “That is not news. But that, too, is reality.”

Trueman led a newsroom where reporters had the freedom to shine and experiment, including a young man who would later become a Global National anchor, Kevin Newman.

“Peter, for a lot of us, was our definition of integrity. The standards that he kept for himself as a journalist, he imbued the newsroom with and really anybody that worked with him,” said Newman.

“For the rest of my career, his notion of integrity was my guidance.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "For the rest of my career, his notion of integrity was my guidance."

“When I started at Global News years ago, Peter Trueman was a God,” recalled Ward Smith, senior vice president of Global News. “And to this day when you mention his name in the halls or at the station, people understand what Peter Trueman stood for — editorial standards of excellence, respect for the audience, the people we were interviewing and the team that was putting the news together.”

Following in his father’s footsteps, Mark Trueman is the senior producer for Global News Toronto. Also joining the team is Mark’s son Devin Trueman, as a control room operator. It is a family legacy on top of the many journalists Peter inspired along the way.

After retiring from Journalism in 1988, Peter and his wife Eleanor decided to live a more peaceful life on Amherst Island in Lake Ontario, between Kingston and the St. Lawrence River. Yet still wanting to do something more, he co-founded CJAI-FM in 2006, a community radio station serving Amherst Island.

Peter received the Order of Canada in 2002, and throughout his five-decade career, earned not only the respect of his peers but also of his viewing audience.

“For me, Peter Trueman was an idol, a mentor, and then later in life a dear friend,” Newman said. “He showed me that there was life outside of journalism.”

Peter was passionate about Canadian history, committed to the environment, and became the host and managing editor of Discovery Channel’s award-winning series Great Canadian Parks.

Yet his greatest accomplishment was his beautiful family. Peter and his beloved Eleanor were married in 1956 and went on to have three children Anne, Mark and Victoria, 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Peter witnessed a lot of history in the making. His lifelong commitment to discovering and reporting the truth will always be remembered not only within the Global News family, but also with his longtime viewers.