Lloyd Robertson

Lloyd Robertson was best known as the longtime chief anchor and senior editor of CTV National News.

He became one of the most recognizable figures in Canadian broadcasting and was voted Canada’s most trusted television journalist by TV Guide Canada readers for 11 consecutive years.

His familiar closing words became part of Canadian popular culture:

“That’s the kind of day it’s been.”

Robertson helped establish the modern Canadian television anchor as an active journalist rather than simply a person who read prepared scripts.

His desire to participate in writing, reporting, story selection, and editorial decisions influenced his move from CBC to CTV. Throughout his career, he emphasized that anchors had a responsibility to understand, question, analyze, and accurately communicate the news they presented.

Robertson reported on many of the defining events of modern Canadian and world history, including:

• The opening of Expo 67
• The Apollo 11 Moon landing
• Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope
• The patriation of the Canadian Constitution
• The 1980 and 1995 Quebec referendums
• Numerous Canadian federal elections
• The fall of the Berlin Wall
• The death of Diana, Princess of Wales
• The September 11 terrorist attacks
• Wars, state funerals, royal visits, papal visits, and Olympic Games
• The 2003 North American power outage

His work provided Canadians with continuity and context as the country underwent enormous political, cultural, and technological change.

For generations of Canadians, Lloyd Robertson was a calm and familiar presence in their homes. His authority did not come from theatrics or exaggerated emotion, but from preparation, fairness, restraint, and an evident respect for the audience.

At a time when television became the primary way millions of people experienced major events, Robertson demonstrated how a broadcaster could convey urgency without creating panic and emotion without abandoning objectivity. His steady approach helped establish trust as one of the defining qualities of Canadian television journalism.

Robertson also gave Canadian news broadcasting a distinct identity. He reported international events through a Canadian perspective while treating stories from every part of the country as part of a shared national experience.

His longevity allowed him to become a living connection between different generations. Parents, children, and grandchildren often remembered hearing the same reassuring voice explain the events shaping their lives.

A seven-dollar-a-week beginning

Long before he became Canada’s most trusted news anchor, Robertson worked after school at Stratford radio station CJCS. At 17, he earned approximately seven dollars a week operating equipment and spinning 78 rpm records for the announcers. He was eventually allowed to read the news at midnight before the station signed off for the evening.

The audition he thought he had failed

When Robertson auditioned for the CBC, he left convinced he would never be invited back. His deep, resonant voice helped make a very different impression on those conducting the audition, and he was hired. That opportunity began a relationship with Canadian national broadcasting that would last for decades.

An uncomfortable pair of cowboy boots

During the early days of television in Winnipeg, performers were expected to be versatile. Robertson handled duties far removed from the serious national news for which he later became famous. Among them was hosting a country-and-western program called Saddle Songs. One contemporary newspaper writer observed that the future broadcasting legend appeared somewhat uncomfortable in his cowboy boots.

His famous sign-off was never meant to overshadow the news

“And that’s the kind of day it’s been” became one of the most recognizable closing lines in Canadian television. Yet Robertson’s delivery remained deliberately understated. It was not intended as a performance or catchphrase, but as a simple closing reflection after presenting the events of the day—perfectly suited to the restrained style that defined his career.