OTTAWA -- Timothy Casgrain is the new chairman of the CBC, the government announced Friday.
The former accountant and business executive from Montreal replaces Guy Fournier, who resigned suddenly from the CBC board of directors in September after stirring up controversy over comments he made about bestiality and bowel movements.
"Mr. Casgrain’s credentials will bring strong leadership to the CBC," said Heritage Minister Bev Oda, in a written statement. "I am confident that his experience and sound judgment will greatly benefit the CBC."
Since 1997, Casgrain has served as chairman of Skyservice Investments Inc., a Canadian aviation company. He was also the executive vice-president of Brascan Financial Corporation between 1976 and 2002 and he worked at NBS Technologies as president and chief executive officer between 1988 and 1995. Shortly after returning from a two-year stint of teaching in Africa in 1971, Casgrain began his career as an accountant with Deloitte and Touche.
Oda describes Casgrain as “an avid supporter of arts and culture.”
He holds positions on a number of boards, including president of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
The CBC’s president Robert Rabinovitch has been serving as interim chairman since Fournier resigned.
Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda has appointed Timothy W. Casgrain as the new chairman of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).


"Mr. Casgrain's credentials will bring strong leadership to the CBC," said Oda. "I am confident that his experience and sound judgement will greatly benefit the CBC."

Casgrain was born in Montreal, Quebec and studied at McGill University. In 1969, he served as a teacher in a small African town in Chad for two years. Some years later, he became an accountant. In 1976, he was chairperson of Skyservice Investments Inc., a Canadian aviation company and was Executive Vice President of the Brascan Financial Corp. In 1988, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of NBS Technologies.

Since then, Casgrain has served many other positions and has many other honours in his name. Casgrain has been a member of the Order of Chartered Accountants of Quebec since 1976 and is the president of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.