Peter Gzowski was one of Canada’s most beloved broadcasters. He was born in Toronto in 1934 and raised in Galt, Ontario. At the University of Toronto, he edited the school newspaper, The Varsity, and developed his passion for journalism. A born storyteller, he worked at newspapers in Timmins, Moose Jaw and Chatham. In 1958, he joined Maclean’s where he became the magazine’s youngest ever managing editor in 1962.

Peter Gzowski’s work in radio left an indelible mark. From 1971-1974, Peter hosted CBC Radio’s This Country in the Morning and CBC Television’s 90 Minutes Live in 1976-1978. He never gave up his love of writing and wrote several non-fiction books including The Sacrament (1980) and The Game of Our Lives (1981). In 1982, he returned to CBC Radio as the host of Morningside, the program that earned him the informal title of Captain Canada. Canadians from coast to coast to coast responded to his folksy style of interviewing everyone from Prime Ministers to celebrities. It is estimated that over his career, Peter Gzowski conducted some 30,000 interviews.

Peter Gzowski was much decorated throughout his career including being named as a companion to the Order of Canada. Of the many honours Gzowski received late in his career, he was proudest of an honorary doctorate from the University of Toronto, a Governor General’s Award for the Performing Arts (1995) and being appointed Chancellor of Trent University in 1999. He also founded the Peter Gzowski Invitational Golf Tournament, now known as the PGI Golf Tournament for Literacy, which raised some $10 million for literacy projects across Canada.

Peter Gzowski died in 2002.