Mesley enrolled in the journalism program at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute but left before completing her degree, though she later obtained a diploma.[4] In 1979, during her last year of studies, both CBC and CTV interviewed students for summer job opportunities.[4] Mesley received offers from both networks but chose to work for CFCF-TV, the CTV affiliate in Montreal.[8][4] However, by 1981, she transitioned to CBC.[4]
In 1985, Mesley became CBC's first female TV correspondent to cover the Prime Minister, when she joined the parliamentary bureau.[8][1] Then in 1991, she became CBC's national affairs correspondent and started hosting Sunday Report.[4]
From 1994 to 2001, Mesley played a pivotal role in the creation and hosting of the media and technology series Undercurrents.[1] In 2002, following a brief stint co-hosting the investigative show Disclosure,[7] Mesley transitioned to the consumer investigation series Marketplace,[9] concurrently serving as a frequent backup anchor for CBC's flagship evening news program, The National.[9]
From October 2009, Mesley had a greater presence on The National, and in 2010, she became the program's regular Friday and Sunday anchor.[16]
In January 2018, she started hosting a new Sunday morning talk show on politics and media, titled The Weekly with Wendy Mesley".[6]
On June 9, 2020, Mesley was suspended from The Weekly with Wendy Mesley[17] for saying "nigger" in an editorial meeting about a presumed panelist who had tweeted she was repeatedly called that;[18] this occurred mere days after the murder of George Floyd.[18] Mesley immediately apologized.[19] Months earlier, during staff discussions of Quebec's Bill 21 prohibiting some civil servants from wearing anything connected to a religious belief, Mesley had referred to the seminal Quebec book "White Niggers of America", written by Pierre Vallières.[18]
On July 5, 2021, Mesley announced her retirement from CBC.[5] On July 7, 2021, an opinion piece she had written appeared in The Globe and Mail, entitled "I made mistakes. But my departure wasn't the solution to the CBC's problem with racism",[18] which detailed the issues leading up to her retirement. While Mesley did concede to having made a serious error by using the "n-word" in editorial meetings, she indicated that her second mistake was in trusting CBC management to manage the story appropriately.[18] She also felt that the punishment administered by management was disproportionate, given that on both occasions, her use of the word was not malicious.[18]
In 2022, Mesley, along with Maureen Holloway, created a podcast called "Women of Ill Repute".[2] She also began writing on Substack.[3]
Awards
Mesley has been honored with three Gemini Awards for Best Host in a News or Talk Program or Series.[20] Additionally, in 2006, she was bestowed with the prestigious John Drainie Award by ACTRA, in recognition of her significant contributions to Canadian broadcasting.[21][8] In 2017, Mesley was the recipient of a Canadian Screen Award for Best Host or Interviewer in a News or Information Program or Series.[22][8]
Personal life
Mesley was born in Montreal, Quebec.[4] Following the dissolution of her parents' marriage shortly after her birth, her mother, Joan Mesley, relocated them to Toronto in 1958.[4] Joan, who never remarried, provided for Wendy by working as a physiotherapist. Wendy met her father, Gordon Mesley, a radio journalist, for the first time, at the age of eighteen.[4]
At the age of ten, Mesley accompanied her mother to the U.S. consulate to picket in support of Martin Luther King Jr.[4]
Mesley married CBC news anchor Peter Mansbridge in 1989,[4] but the union ended in 1992.[4] She remarried in 1998, with marketing executive Liam McQuade. Together, they have a daughter.[4]
During the fall of 2004, Mesley received a diagnosis of an aggressive form of breast cancer subsequent to the discovery of a lump in her left breast.[23] Shortly thereafter, she found a small, malignant lump in her right breast.[24] In January 2005, she publicly disclosed her diagnosis.[9][24] Despite reducing her workload, Mesley persevered with her hosting duties on Marketplace when she could and as a backup newsreader for The National.[9] Following a series of treatments, including two lumpectomies, chemotherapy, and radiation,[23] Mesley resumed her full-time position at CBC in March 2006, albeit under the ongoing care of an oncologist.[23] During her treatment period, Mesley also undertook the filming of a documentary, titled Chasing the Cancer Answer, which aired in March 2006.[23]
