Isabel Bassett
Encyclopedia
Isabel Bassett is a Canadian
broadcaster and former politician
. From 1999 until 2005 she was the chair and CEO of TVOntario
/TFO
, Ontario
's provincial public television network. She has been a controversial figure at times, but is also a highly regarded pioneer in Canadian broadcasting.
, Nova Scotia
. She received a Bachelor of Arts
from Queen's University and a Master of Arts
from York University
in 1973. As well, she graduated from teacher's college and taught English and French at Humberside Collegiate Institute
.
Bassett first entered Canadian public life as a journalist for the Toronto Telegram
in the 1960s. She later joined CTV
, where she became a prominent reporter and documentary producer, including a stint with W-FIVE
, after marrying Baton Broadcasting owner John Bassett
in 1970. 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.
, Bassett ran as a Progressive Conservative
candidate in the Toronto
riding of St. Paul's. She lost to Liberal
Barry Campbell by over 15,000 votes.
Bassett was elected in the provincial election of 1995
, defeating Liberal
candidate Carolyn Bennett
(later a federal Member of Parliament
) 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
. Despite the Harris government's right-wing reputation, Bassett is a Red Tory
, and was one of the most socially progressive members of the Harris cabinet.
John Bassett died in 1998, and Isabel subsequently began a relationship with cabinet colleague Ernie Eves
.
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.
Bassett has also written a number of books on the political, social and historical achievements of Canadian women.
and Studio 2
, could continue to air.
Bassett's position again became controversial when Eves became Premier of Ontario
in 2002, with media critics noting the potential conflict of interest
inherent in Bassett remaining as head of TVOntario while simultaneously in a common law
relationship with the provincial premier. Bassett was popular within TVOntario, however, and the controversy soon subsided. She remained chair and CEO of TVOntario until September 29, 2005, when the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty
separated the two positions. Bassett's successors were film producer Peter O'Brian as chair, and former Astral Media
executive Lisa de Wilde
as CEO.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
broadcaster and former politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. From 1999 until 2005 she was the chair and CEO of TVOntario
TVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
/TFO
TFO
TFO is a Canadian French language educational public television network in the province of Ontario. It is the only French-language television network in Canada whose operations are based entirely outside of Quebec....
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
's provincial public television network. She has been a controversial figure at times, but is also a highly regarded pioneer in Canadian broadcasting.
Background
Bassett was born in HalifaxCity of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. She received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Queen's University and a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
from York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
in 1973. As well, she graduated from teacher's college and taught English and French at Humberside Collegiate Institute
Humberside Collegiate Institute
Humberside Collegiate Institute is a public high school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves the Bloor West Village, High Park North and Junction neighbourhoods. Humberside was established in 1892 and has an academic program for students in grades 9 through 12...
.
Bassett first entered Canadian public life as a journalist for the Toronto Telegram
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 both the federal and provincial level. The paper competed with the liberal Toronto Star...
in the 1960s. She later joined CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
, where she became a prominent reporter and documentary producer, including a stint with W-FIVE
W-FIVE
W5 is a Canadian news magazine television series produced by CTV News. The program is currently initially broadcast Saturday nights at 7 p.m...
, after marrying Baton Broadcasting owner John Bassett
John Bassett
John White Hughes Bassett, was a Canadian publisher and media baron.Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he was the son of John Bassett , publisher of the Montreal Gazette, and Margaret Avery. Bassett attended Ashbury College and graduated from Bishop's University with a BA in 1936...
in 1970. 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.
Politics
In the federal election of 1993Canadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
, Bassett ran as a Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
candidate in the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
riding of St. Paul's. She lost to Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Barry Campbell by over 15,000 votes.
Bassett was elected in the provincial election of 1995
Ontario general election, 1995
The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...
, defeating Liberal
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
candidate Carolyn Bennett
Carolyn Bennett
Carolyn Ann Bennett, PC, MP is the Member of Parliament for the riding of St. Paul's, a constituency located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and was formerly a candidate for its leadership....
(later a federal Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
) by about 3,500 votes. She served as the Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for St. Andrew—St. Patrick
St. Andrew—St. Patrick
St. Andrew—St. Patrick was a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that returned Members of Provincial Parliament to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario at Queen's Park....
for the next four years. On October 10, 1997, she was appointed Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation in the government of Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
. Despite the Harris government's right-wing reputation, Bassett is a Red Tory
Red Tory
A red Tory is an adherent of a particular political philosophy, tradition, and disposition in Canada somewhat similar to the High Tory tradition in the United Kingdom; it is contrasted with "blue Tory". In Canada, the phenomenon of "red toryism" has fundamentally, if not exclusively, been found in...
, and was one of the most socially progressive members of the Harris cabinet.
John Bassett died in 1998, and Isabel subsequently began a relationship with cabinet colleague Ernie Eves
Ernie Eves
Ernest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
.
In the 1999 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1999
An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, Bassett was defeated in the new provincial riding of St. Paul's by Liberal candidate Michael Bryant
Michael Bryant (politician)
Michael J. Bryant is former public administrator and former politician in Ontario, Canada. A Harvard-trained lawyer, he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the electoral district of St. Paul's for the Ontario Liberal Party from 1999 until 2009...
. She was one of several Toronto Progressive Conservatives defeated in the city due to the unpopularity of Harris' government.
Bassett has also written a number of books on the political, social and historical achievements of Canadian women.
TV Ontario
After the election, Bassett was appointed as head of TVOntario 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 MoviesSaturday Night at the Movies
Saturday Night at the Movies is a weekly television series on TVOntario, the public educational television network in Ontario, Canada. The series presents classic movies, followed by interview and feature segments with directors, actors and other people involved in making the films presented...
and Studio 2
Studio 2
Studio 2 was a daily current affairs newsmagazine on TVOntario in Ontario, Canada. The show won several Gemini Awards, and was hosted by Steve Paikin and Paula Todd , and first aired in 1994. TVOntario announced the program's termination on June 29, 2006...
, could continue to air.
Bassett's position again became controversial when Eves became Premier of Ontario
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
in 2002, with media critics noting the potential conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
inherent in Bassett remaining as head of TVOntario while simultaneously in a common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
relationship with the provincial premier. Bassett was popular within TVOntario, however, and the controversy soon subsided. She remained chair and CEO of TVOntario until September 29, 2005, when the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
separated the two positions. Bassett's successors were film producer Peter O'Brian as chair, and former Astral Media
Astral Media
Astral Media Inc. is a Canadian media corporation. It is Canada's largest radio broadcaster with 83 radio stations in eight provinces, and is a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, including The Movie Network, Super Écran, Family, Teletoon, Canal D, Canal Vie, VRAK.TV,...
executive Lisa de Wilde
Lisa de Wilde
Lisa de Wilde is a Canadian film and television executive and has been the CEO of TVOntario since 2005. She has previously worked for Astral Media and with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission . She is a graduate of McGill University and is a member of the Law Society of...
as CEO.