CTV News Montreal

Profile: CTV Montreal News Anchor and Reporter 

Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec

Education: Joliette High School; Vanier College; BA in broadcast journalism at Concordia University

Free time: Running, cooking, tennis, gardening, travelling and spending time with her husband and SPCA dogs, Scooter and Libby.

Little known fact: Debra is a marathon runner

In 1989, fresh out of university and with little experience, Debra began knocking on doors to work in journalism. While waiting for a call back she spent her days at CKUT radio producing and hosting a current affairs show. A few months later, CJAD radio news director Gord Sinclair gave Debra her first real break in the business. She was hired as a traffic reporter for CJAD and MIX 96. Shortly after, Debra joined the CJAD newsroom as a news reporter, and newscaster. Five years later, Debra moved on to The Weather Network.

Debra joined CFCF 12 in December 1997 as a weekend anchor and news reporter. In 2003, she moved to anchoring CTV News weeknights at 11:30 p.m. That same year she began the dynamic segment, "Debra Arbec's My Montreal." The feature airs each Thursday, with stories highlighting the culture and traditions of multi-ethnic Montreal.

Throughout her career, Debra has received several journalism awards including the RTNDA Dan MacArthur Award for a special report on teen gambling. Most recently, she was a Canadian Association of Broadcasters Gold Ribbon finalist for her "My Montreal" reports.

Debra has learned so much about the diversity of the city through the feature. She feels fortunate to be able to anchor a newscast, and still get out into the community to tell people's stories.

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