Veteran meteorologist Claire Martin, of CBC fame, has made the transition from weather forecasting to media production, signing on as the managing director of North Vancouver production company Anaïd.
Putting aside her award-winning work as both a meteorologist and a presenter, Martin says that the change was needed and a long time in the works.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do for awhile,” says Martin.
“Margaret (Mardirossian, Anaïd Productions founder) and I have known each other for 15 years. Margaret was in need of a new managing director . . . the opportunity came up and I just thought ‘Time to take on something new and creative.’”
Anaïd Productions’ portfolio features mostly reality-TV shows, their most popular to date being The Liquidator, which follows a Burnaby liquidation store owner and his skills in negotiation and bargaining.
On her new challenges as managing director, Martin says that there are a lot of similarities to her old job but plenty of differences, with more day-to-day work at the CBC while at Anaïd, the focus is on bigger, more long-term projects.
Martin is best known as the former senior meteorologist for the CBC, presenting the weather forecast alongside The National’s Peter Mansbridge. Leaving the national broadcaster in the final weeks of February, her co-workers said tearful goodbyes on air and even featured Rick Mercer stopping by for a quick hug and a gift during her forecast.
“I miss the CBC,” says Martin, who started at Anaïd two weeks ago. “There was no reason for me to leave other than I wanted to try something new, so that was tough. Great job, great people
. . . I wouldn’t lie. I miss them.”
While she misses the people, Martin says she doesn’t miss the stress of appearing on air, which got “harder and harder over time.”
“It’s actually pretty tough to be on air constantly, you’ve got to look good, every single day . . . After a while, you just think ‘Wow, it’s time for somebody younger to come on air and do what I do.’”
Martin emigrated in 1989 from England, landing a job with Environment Canada, going to Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories, which she describes as “the shock of her life.”
When asked about her experiences emigrating from England, Martin replies with a very British response of, “Blimey, that’s a long time ago.”
“(Emigrating) was hard. I don’t regret it in the slightest obviously. I’ve been out here almost 30 years now. I don’t consider England home anymore, Canada is now home.
“But it’s a tough transition,” she admits. “We speak the same language but sometimes we don’t.”
Despite spending a number of years in Toronto with CBC, Martin says her love of the West Coast always drew her back.
“My office right now, I look out onto the mountains, although they are a bit shrouded . . . It’s beautiful out here,” she says.
“I love North Vancouver. It’s as close to home as anywhere in Canada.”
On her new job, Martin admits that the work is challenging but she relishes the opportunity to try something more creative, which is far more exciting to her.
“It’s so different from what I have done, so it’s giving me a breath of fresh air.”
