Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #45, Mary Ann Turcke

Mary Ann Turcke

President, Bell Media

45Turcke inherited a news division that was reeling from her predecessor’s attempts to meddle in CTV’s news coverage. Since that controversy, she has steered the legacy media property in a confident new direction. Turcke pulled the plug on Canada AM after 43 seasons and replaced it with Your Morning, a glitzier iteration. Even if the gamble goes bust, Turcke can still brag about consistently beating the CBC for most-watched national newscast. Her campaign against Canadians stealing U.S. Netflix seems to have worked: in the spring, Netflix Canada introduced measures to prevent viewers from accessing the service’s American library. (Sorry, Frasier fans.)

Leisure pursuits:

She and her husband, Gord McIlquham, are competitive sailors.

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