Carmel Smyth was awarded the Canadian Media Guild’s highest honour, the CMG Meritorious Service Award, at the union’s convention in June.

Carmel spent more than 20 years in various leadership roles at CMG, including five years as CMG-CBC Toronto president, and nine years as the union’s president.  

She has led the CMG through many tumultuous times, including being a Toronto organizer during the 2005 CBC lockout, and helping steer CMG to be a strong voice for media workers’ rights at a time of financial crisis in the news media industry. Carmel set up the national temp committee and ran the union’s first Long Service Awards campaign for CBC temporary workers, implemented CMG’s first Save CBC public campaign, worked with other unions to launch the Journalism Matters national initiative and advocated for a strong and independent press with decision makers at the federal and provincial level.

A tireless advocate for fellow union members and colleagues, Carmel not only talks the union talk, she walks the union walk, supporting and lifting up her fellow CMG members, and mentoring many young media workers into the union community. She has encouraged and supported diverse and regional members to take up leadership positions within the CMG, and is always there to lend a listening ear. She fought against harassment and racism towards our members and staff, and started CMG’s first mandatory anti-racism training for union volunteers.

During her years a CMG president, Carmel worked to make long-held CMG goals a reality, such as purchasing the CMG national office instead of renting, thus saving the union significant amounts of money. The policies and bylaw changes she helped implement have made the union stronger.

Carmel is an award-winning journalist with 25 years of experience in private and public broadcasting, in radio, television and online.