CTV Montreal Appoints Maya Johnson as Anchor, CTV NEWS AT 5 and CTV NEWS AT 11:30

Tags: @MJohnsonCTV, @CTVMontreal, @CTV_PR

MONTREAL (November 9, 2020) – CTV Montreal announced today the appointment of Maya Johnson as Anchor, CTV NEWS AT 5 and CTV NEWS AT 11:30. Currently CTV News Montreal’s Québec City Bureau Chief and fill-in anchor, Johnson assumes her permanent anchor duties in Montréal beginning in March 2021.

“2020 has been a turbulent year for everyone. I think our viewers have always considered our anchors a steadying, trusted presence in their homes — especially when there’s some kind of crisis,” said Johnson. “I’m committed to continuing that tradition of stability during these trying times. It’s an honour to be entrusted with this position, and I’m proud to be working with an exceptionally talented team.”

Currently on maternity leave, Johnson will remain in Québec City to cover the winter session of the National Assembly before taking up her new role in Montréal at the end of March. She takes over the role from longtime CTV Montreal anchor Paul Karwatsky, who recently announced his departure from broadcasting to focus on autism awareness.

“Maya has anchored our newscasts on many occasions and the response from Montrealers has always been very positive,” said Jed Kahane, News Director, CTV Montreal. “We’re delighted to have her returning to her hometown to take up this new role, at a time when the community is relying on our work more than ever.”

Johnson’s move marks a homecoming for the veteran reporter, who returns to the same newsroom where her career began as a summer intern in 2005 while studying journalism at Concordia University. Within weeks of beginning her internship, Johnson made the leap from researching behind the scenes to reporting on air, becoming the youngest reporter in the newsroom at the age of 21.

During her freelance days that followed, Johnson also wrote for the West Island Chronicle as well as the Montreal Community Contact, a bi-weekly newspaper serving the city’s Black and Caribbean community.

After earning her degree, Johnson continued to cover a wide range of hard news and human-interest stories until she was hired as a permanent full-time reporter in 2012. In 2016, she was named Québec City Bureau Chief, a role she will hold until her move to Montréal next March.

Throughout her career, Johnson has covered breaking news across her home province – from the train derailment and explosion in Lac-Mégantic to the plane crash that killed former MP and political analyst Jean Lapierre in Iles-de-la-Madeleine. She also covered the shootings on Parliament Hill in 2014.