Peter Mansbridge says he didn’t tell his podcast audience or Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre about work he had done for a South Korean firm vying for Ottawa’s defence business during a recent podcast he published, in which he asked the Opposition leader about the issue of Canada’s submarine procurement.
A new ad from Hanwha Ocean featuring the familiar voice of the retired CBC News anchor has been running on YouTube to help the company make its case for the Canadian government to buy its next generation of submarines from the South Korean firm.
Mansbridge said he was not aware of the precise timing of the ad’s release when his recent podcast interview with Poilievre was recorded on Feb. 26, and posted a few days later.
“The ads had not run and I was not aware of when they would. I did not mention the ads to him,” Mansbridge told CBC News via email on Monday night, responding to questions about the narration work he did for Hanwha Ocean.
He likewise did not tell his podcast audience, though he said he would do soon.
“For full transparency, I should have at that time and I will this week,” Mansbridge said.
Mansbridge asks Poilievre where Canada should get its next submarines from
Hanwha is vying with German manufacturer ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) to supply Canada with up to 12 new submarines. Ottawa appears disinclined to split the multi-billion dollar order between multiple firms, hence the need for the South Korean company to persuade Canada to choose Hanwha.
“They are in a horse race, they might have data that public opinion would immediately favour Germany over South Korea, and they want to swing the pendulum back,” Tony Chapman, a marketing expert and host of the Chatter that Matters podcast, said via email on Monday evening.
“And they might have a really smart PR company who knows that by hiring him, it will be talked about in the news, and people will go to their You Tube site. ”
The Hanwha Ocean ad, featuring the instantly recognizable voice of Mansbridge, begins with him telling the viewer: “They say the future depends on what you choose to do today.”
“The Hanwha Canadian Patrol Submarine can be delivered first, creating new jobs, new partnerships and enduring economic benefits,” the narration by Mansbridge says.
A Hanwha Ocean representative confirmed to CBC News over the weekend that Mansbridge was the voice in the ad, which can be found on YouTube.
The ad is seemingly being promoted separate from YouTube, including via a clickable ad driving users to the video, which has appeared on the CBC News website.
It also played during at least one commercial break during the livestream of The National on Monday evening.
The company has not returned answers to follow-up questions, including the precise date when the ad campaign launched and the full span of platforms where it is appearing.
But the company has posted it on YouTube, where, as of early Monday evening, it has been viewed more than two million times since being posted on March 2.
The topic of South Korean-made subs was briefly broached during Mansbridge’s interview with Poilievre — though Hanwha was not directly referenced by name.
“European or Korean subs?” Mansbridge asked Poilievre, late in the 45-minute interview, which was posted in full on YouTube a week ago.
“That’s a good question. I don’t have an answer for you right now, ” said Poilievre.
“I know the government is doing a very careful analysis of the various capabilities and costs. And … like the government, I’m not ready to make a decision on that one. But we do need submarines, absolutely, a very powerful fleet, particularly to secure the Arctic.”
The broader interview — the first between Mansbridge and Poilievre — was reported on by various media outlets, including CBC News. CBC had been given a recording of the interview ahead of its airing.
Mansbridge said Monday evening that he did not tell CBC News about his work with Hanwha either.
Poilievre’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the matter late Monday afternoon.
Mansbridge wrapped up his role as the chief correspondent for CBC News and anchor for The National in 2017. He’d worked for the organization for nearly a half-century at that point.
“I left news broadcasting almost 10 years ago when I retired from the CBC,” Mansbridge said in his email on Monday evening, noting he’s not been part of a journalistic organization since 2017.
He said it’s well-known that he’s working as a podcaster now “where I’m not shy about giving my opinions on all topics.”
Mansbridge also said he gives strategic advice to companies and institutions and has not hidden that fact from the public. He also gives speeches “for a fee across the country and in fact around the world.”
