Biography

Lisa LaFlamme has been at the forefront of journalism for over 30 years
tackling some of the biggest issues of our time, traveling the globe,
delivering breaking news and bringing it back home to Canadians. 
The internationally respected journalist has interviewed major
newsmakers, Prime Ministers, Presidents and Princes while always
keeping the spotlight on the injustices that plague the world’s most
oppressed.

LaFlamme has traveled to some of the world’s most dangerous places
and through her extensive war coverage of Iraq, Afghanistan,
Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine has documented the reality
of how conflict warps society, punishes the most vulnerable and benefits
the most corrupt. 

A native of Kitchener-Waterloo, in 1988, LaFlamme began her career in
local radio and TV in her hometown before making the move to CTV
National News in 1997.  She moved from Prime Time anchor of CTV
Newschannel to an Ottawa correspondent in CTV’s Parliamentary
bureau.  In September 2001, LaFlamme became co-host of the number
one morning show Canada Am.  Her second day on the job, 9-11, the
attacks on the World Trade Centre pulled her out of the studio once
again to report from New York City, the United Nations, the Pentagon
and ultimately Iraq and Afghanistan. 

For more than a decade LaFlamme went from conflict zone to disaster
zone delivering award winning coverage of  hurricanes, earthquakes and
climate crises including Southeast Asia in the wake of the deadly 2005
tsunami and Japan’s devastating nuclear emergency in 2011. That same
year she was named Canada’s first female anchor of a national nightly
newscast replacing longtime anchor Lloyd Robertson.  

As Chief Anchor and Senior Editor of CTV National News for almost 12
years, LaFlamme led the country’s number one newscast and cemented
her role as the face of news in Canada. During her career, she has
received critical acclaim for her live special broadcasts from around the
world marking moments in history from Royal weddings to funerals,
major political upheaval at home and abroad, the rescue of the Chilean
miners, the opioid crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing
resilience of refugees. LaFlamme has reported extensively on the

humanitarian crisis facing the Afghan people and has worked intensively
on helping Afghan women and girls under threat by the Taliban. 
The veteran journalist is the recipient of 12 Canadian Screen Awards,
consecutive RTDNA awards a Lifetime Achievement Award  for
broadcasting and journalism and in 2023, The Gordon Sinclair Award
for her “exceptional body of work in broadcast journalism.” Over her
career she has received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater
University of Ottawa, an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Wilfrid
Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont. and the University of Windsor and an
honorary Doctor of Letters from Trent University. She is the recipient of
the Order of Ontario and in  June 2019,  was named Officer of the Order
of Canada (O.C.), one of the country’s highest honours. 

A passionate advocate of democracy in journalism, LaFlamme
volunteers for Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) and has traveled with
the organization to the Democratic Republic of Congo to mentor young
journalists in Goma, in the heart of the conflict zone. She serves as
honorary co-chair of the annual JHR Night for Rights and in 2022 was
awarded the JHR award for Human Rights Reporting.
Lisa is also an ambassador for Plan International and volunteers for
Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan.