30 Facts About Mike Duffy

Michael Dennis Duffy was born on May 27,1946 and is a former Canadian senator and Canadian television journalist.

Mike Duffy was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island to Lillian and Wilfrid Duffy.

Mike Duffy is a grandson of Charles Gavan Duffy, a PEI Liberal MLA and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island.

Mike Duffy became a ham radio operator at the age of 16 and began his career as a teen disc jockey at CFCY-TV.

Mike Duffy moved to print journalism by working with The Guardian in Charlottetown.

Mike Duffy joined CBC radio's Parliament Hill bureau in 1974, and became a reporter for the flagship television newscast The National in 1977.

Mike Duffy became the lead CBC television reporter on Parliament Hill and covered the elections and most of the important federal stories of the Trudeau, Clark and Mulroney governments.

Mike Duffy covered the fall of South Vietnam in April 1975 and was one of the last journalists to leave before the arrival of North Vietnamese troops and Viet Cong insurgents.

In 1988, Mike Duffy joined Baton Broadcasting as the first host of its Sunday morning news program Sunday Edition based in Ottawa.

When that series ended in 1999, Mike Duffy moved to his role as a show host and interviewer with CTV Newsnet.

Mike Duffy was a popular speaker at conferences, annual meetings and other events across Canada and, writer Stevie Cameron noted in her 1990 book Ottawa Inside Out, was probably the most-recognized journalist on Parliament Hill.

On May 27,2009, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled Mike Duffy violated Canadian broadcasting codes during the 2008 Canadian federal election.

In 1994, Mike Duffy was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Mike Duffy has received honorary degrees from the University of Prince Edward Island, as well as Wilfrid Laurier University and from Niagara University in Niagara Falls, New York.

Mike Duffy has been a visiting fellow at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina, and has been twice nominated for the "best in the business" award by the Washington Journalism Review.

On December 22,2008, Mike Duffy was named a Prince Edward Island representative to the Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, sitting as a Conservative.

Mike Duffy subsequently retired as a TV journalist at the end of 2008.

Mike Duffy was introduced to the Senate on January 26,2009 immediately prior to the Speech from the Throne.

In 2012, Mike Duffy was accused by the media and Senate of improperly claiming primary residency outside of Ottawa in order to claim living expenses for time working in Ottawa.

Mike Duffy then repaid the Government of Canada $90,172 in March 2013.

Mike Duffy resigned from the Conservative caucus on May 16,2013, and became an independent senator.

The judge said Mike Duffy had no choice in the matter, as he had been appointed to represent Prince Edward Island in the Senate.

On July 17,2014, Mike Duffy was charged by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with 31 offences.

Mike Duffy was acquitted of all charges on April 21,2016.

Mike Duffy was acquitted, Fife claimed he had been repeatedly misled by the Harper PMO.

Mike Duffy went on to declare the scandal was a "manipulative hoax" by Nigel Wright foisted on the Canadian public.

Mike Duffy accused the Senate of abuse of process and breaching its duty to provide him with a fair hearing before suspending him.

Mike Duffy accused the Senate of acting under media pressure and adding to stress that took a heavy toll on his health.

In January 2019, Mike Duffy filed an appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal.

In October 2020, Mike Duffy filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, which was dismissed in February 2021.