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Isabel Bassett (born 1939) is a Canadian broadcaster. She is currently the chair and CEO of TVOntario, Ontario's provincial public television network. She has held the position since 1999. She has at times been a controversial figure, but is also a highly regarded pioneer in Canadian broadcasting.
Bassett first entered Canadian public life as a journalist for the Toronto Telegram in the 1960s. She later joined CTV, where she became a prominent reporter and documentary producer, including a stint with W5, after marrying Baton Broadcasting owner John Bassett in 1970. Although her documentary work for CTV won numerous awards, she was sometimes accused of having been given her position solely because she was married to the boss.
In 1995, Bassett was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, serving as Progressive Conservative MPP for St. Andrew—St. Patrick in the government of Mike Harris. (Despite the Harris government's neoconservative reputation, however, Bassett is actually a Red Tory.) In 1997, she was appointed Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation.
John Bassett died in 1998; Isabel subsequently began a relationship with cabinet colleague Ernie Eves.
In the 1999 provincial election, Bassett was one of several Toronto Progressive Conservatives defeated due to the unpopularity of Harris' government in the city. However, the Conservatives won the election provincewide, and Harris subsequently appointed Bassett head of TVOntario. Her mandate was to refocus the network squarely on educational programming; however, Bassett successfully found ways to ensure that the network's most popular non-educational programs, such as Saturday Night at the Movies and Studio 2, could continue to air.
When Eves became Premier of Ontario in 2002, Bassett again became briefly controversial, with media critics noting the potential conflict of interest inherent in Bassett remaining as head of TVOntario while simultaneously in a common law relationship with the provincial premier. However, Bassett was quite popular within TVOntario, and remained as head of the network. She still holds the position in 2004, a year after Eves was defeated by Dalton McGuinty.
Bassett has also authored a number of books on the political, social and historical achievements of Canadian women.
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