Michel Cormier
Encyclopedia
Michel Cormier is a Canadian
journalist
, lecturer
and author
. Cormier is currently the CBC News
foreign correspondent
based in Beijing
, China
. Cormier had previously been a foreign correspondent for CBC news in Moscow from 2000 to 2004 and in Paris from 2004 to 2006. He was appointed to Beijing in the summer 2006.
Born in Cocagne, New Brunswick
in 1957, Cormer received his bachelor's degree
in journalism
from Carleton University
in 1979 and a Masters degree in political science
(foreign policy
studies) from Laval University in 1986. Cormier began broadcasting career in Moncton, New Brunswick
at Radio-Canada
. Between 1979 and 1983, he worked as a news and current affairs
reporter for television. From 1986 to 1989, he was based in Montreal
, Quebec
, where he produced documentaries for Présent-Dimanche, Radio-Canada's weekly current affairs show. Cormier earned the Judith-Jasmin Award for best feature reporting.
In 1989, he left Radio-Canada for CBC Radio
, where he became Sunday Morning
's correspondent in Ottawa
. He covered the demise of the Meech Lake Accord
, the Charlottetown Accord
, the beginnings of the Reform Party
and the Bloc Québécois
as well as the end of the Mulroney government. In 1993, Cormier became Radio-Canada's Le Point
correspondent in Ottawa. He won an Anik Award for his story on the federal government mismanagement of its fleet of Challenger
aircraft. In 1996, he was named Radio-Canada bureau chief at the Quebec National Assembly.
Cormier was the first Canadian journalist to enter Afghanistan
in Fall
2001, a couple of weeks after September 11.
Cormer co-authored, with Achille Michaud, a biography
of the late New Brunswick
Premier
Richard Hatfield
"Un dernier train pour Hartland" (Last Train for Hartland), which was shortlisted for the France-Acadie book award in 1991. In 2004, Cormier published the first biography of New-Brunswick Prime Minister Louis Robichaud written in French, entitled "Louis Robichaud: une révolution si peu tranquille", for which he won the Prix France-Acadie. In 2006, he publishes a series of essays about his experiences as a foreign correspondent in Russia entitled "La Russie des illusions", which becomes a finalist for the Governor General Award in 2007.
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...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. Cormier is currently the CBC News
CBC News
CBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...
foreign correspondent
Foreign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
based in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Cormier had previously been a foreign correspondent for CBC news in Moscow from 2000 to 2004 and in Paris from 2004 to 2006. He was appointed to Beijing in the summer 2006.
Born in Cocagne, New Brunswick
Cocagne, New Brunswick
Cocagne is a Canadian community in Kent County, New Brunswick.It is located at the mouth of the Cocagne River on the Northumberland Strait....
in 1957, Cormer received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
from Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
in 1979 and a Masters degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
(foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
studies) from Laval University in 1986. Cormier began broadcasting career in Moncton, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
at Radio-Canada
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
. Between 1979 and 1983, he worked as a news and current affairs
Current affairs
Current affairs can refer to:*Current affairs : a genre of broadcast journalism* an approximate synonym for current events* an approximate synonym for politics* "Current Affairs", a song by Zion I from Heroes in the City of Dope...
reporter for television. From 1986 to 1989, he was based in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, where he produced documentaries for Présent-Dimanche, Radio-Canada's weekly current affairs show. Cormier earned the Judith-Jasmin Award for best feature reporting.
In 1989, he left Radio-Canada for CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to 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 are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
, where he became Sunday Morning
Sunday Morning (radio program)
Sunday Morning was a Canadian radio news and information program, which aired on CBC Radio One. The magazine style program was one of the highest budget shows on CBC Radio and featured documentaries, interviews, round table discussions, book reviews, arts reports, puzzles and various features...
's correspondent in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. He covered the demise of the Meech Lake Accord
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...
, the Charlottetown Accord
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October 26 of that year, and was defeated.-Background:...
, the beginnings of the Reform Party
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
and the Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
as well as the end of the Mulroney government. In 1993, Cormier became Radio-Canada's Le Point
Le Point
Le Point is a French weekly news magazine. It was founded in 1972 by a group of journalists who had, one year earlier, left the editorial team of L'Express, which was then owned by Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, a député of the Parti Radical...
correspondent in Ottawa. He won an Anik Award for his story on the federal government mismanagement of its fleet of Challenger
Challenger
-Land vehicles:* Challenger trucks, a Canadian maker of heavy trucks* One of several British Army tanks:** Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger, in service during World War II** Challenger 1 tank, in service from the late 1980s to early 21st century...
aircraft. In 1996, he was named Radio-Canada bureau chief at the Quebec National Assembly.
Cormier was the first Canadian journalist to enter Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in Fall
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
2001, a couple of weeks after September 11.
Cormer co-authored, with Achille Michaud, a biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of the late New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
Premier
Premier of New Brunswick
The Premier of New Brunswick is the first minister for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive....
Richard Hatfield
Richard Hatfield
Richard Bennett Hatfield, PC, ONB was a New Brunswick politician and long time Premier of the province .- Early life :...
"Un dernier train pour Hartland" (Last Train for Hartland), which was shortlisted for the France-Acadie book award in 1991. In 2004, Cormier published the first biography of New-Brunswick Prime Minister Louis Robichaud written in French, entitled "Louis Robichaud: une révolution si peu tranquille", for which he won the Prix France-Acadie. In 2006, he publishes a series of essays about his experiences as a foreign correspondent in Russia entitled "La Russie des illusions", which becomes a finalist for the Governor General Award in 2007.