Tom Clark
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Early Life and Background
Tom Clark was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He is bilingual, fluent in both English and French. Born in the 1950s—though the exact year has not been publicly disclosed—Clark comes from a distinguished Canadian family with deep roots in journalism. His parents, Joseph Adair Porter Clark and Patricia Grant, were also from Toronto. His father was the founder, CEO, and President of Canada News Wire.
Quick Facts
- Date of Birth
- 1950
- Profession
- Canadian television journalist
- Employer
- CTV National News
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- Birth Place
- Canada
- Wife
- Janey Reid
- Alma Mater
- Upper Canada College
- Nationality
- Canadian
- T.V. Show(s)
- The west Block, Power Play etc.
- Marital Status
- Married
- Net Worth 2021
- 3 million
Family Heritage in Journalism
Journalism runs in the Clark family. Tom’s great-grandfather, Joseph Thomas Clark, was the managing editor of both the Toronto Star and Saturday Night magazine. His grandfather, Joseph William Greig Clark, served as an RAF aviator and was also a reporter for the Toronto Star. Tom’s great-uncle, Gregory Clark, was a well-known writer and journalist with both the Toronto Star and the Toronto Telegram. Gregory’s son, James Murray Clark, continued the family tradition, also reporting for the Toronto Star.
Education and Early Career in Journalism
Tom Clark studied journalism at Carleton University in Ottawa. However, when a compelling job opportunity arose in Montreal, he left university to begin his professional career. This move marked the beginning of what would become a distinguished lifetime in journalism.
Personal Interests and Aviation
Outside of journalism, Tom Clark is a licensed pilot and enjoys flying his floatplane, often exploring the remote northern regions of Canada. This passion complements his adventurous spirit, which also defined many of the stories he covered during his career.
Career Highlights and Contributions to Canadian Journalism
Tom Clark is a respected and accomplished Canadian television journalist. Throughout his career, he has interviewed numerous Canadian Prime Ministers during election seasons and held key international positions. In the 1980s, Clark served as CTV’s Beijing Bureau Chief and later spent five years as the Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief. Notably, he became the first Canadian journalist to interview a sitting U.S. President, George H. W. Bush, on Canadian television.
Clark has reported from eight war zones, with extensive coverage from Afghanistan. He was present during and reported on the NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the Chinese military crackdown at Tiananmen Square. He was also among the first journalists to report on the Ethiopian famine in 1984, an event that brought global attention to humanitarian crises in developing nations.
His television roles included co-anchoring CTV National News and anchoring the political affairs program Power Play on CTV News Channel. In 2011, Clark joined Global News as Chief Political Correspondent and anchor of the political television program The West Block.
