Barrie Ward (born January 30 1949) is a Canadian broadcaster, writer and educator. As of 2006, he serves as the director of corporate research for Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation in La Ronge Saskatchewan.

Ward has one of the most easily recognized voices on the Saskatchewan radio scene, He started his broadcasting career with CFQC radio in Saskatoon in 1968, where he hosted the Waxworks program at age 19 while attending the University of Saskatchewan.

He worked at CFQC radio and television until May 1972, developing his technical production, writing and reporting skills. He credits much of his growth and success in radio skills to the influence and example set by fellow broadcasters Denny Carr and Jim McRory and the news director at CFQC Les Edwards.



After a brief stint as the program manager and news director of CFMC-FM Saskatoon in 1972 , he was hired as an announcer and mid-day show host at CBKST-TV, the CBC Television affiliate in Saskatoon.

In the spring of 1973, Ward moved to La Ronge, in northern Saskatchewan, where he had been hired to host and produce Northern News for the Government of Saskatchewan. During this time, he also wrote a weekly newspaper column for the La Ronge Northerner, and delivered a weekly local cable television newscast.

He took a hiatus from broadcasting and moved back to Saskatoon in 1976 to work for the Saskatchewan Council for Crippled Children and Adults for three years as a rehabilitation counselor and vocational evaluator. Ward returned to his radio roots in 1979 at the invitation of Roy Currie, then manager of CJWW in Saskatoon. Ward quickly solidified his reputation as a multi-talented broadcast personality who could 'cover' any situation and he took increasingly to tutoring/mentoring younger and less experienced broadcasters around him.

In early 1980's Ward relocated to the small village of Weldon, Saskatchewan in northeast Saskatchewan where his wife had taken a teaching position. He has commuted from there for almost a quarter century as a radio/television instructor and researcher/writer for the fledgling aboriginal broadcast industry. He was granted a short sabbatical from his employer Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation in 1988 and he briefly served as the CEO of the Native Communications Society of The Northwest Territories in Yellowknife before returning to work for MBC in 1989.

Ward has been a writer and teacher of radio and television arts since his first years in the communications field and is noted as being an exceptional autodidact and Versatilist in the full spectrum of modern media. He has helped advance aboriginal radio and in particular MBC over the past three decades and has been professionally and publicly recognized with four different awards for his lifetime contributions to Canadian Aboriginal broadcasting.

Personal life

Ward was married in 1971. He and his wife Elisabeth, a teacher, have two children, both grown and married professionals.

Ward served three terms as the mayor of his small residential community, and has served multiple terms on the boards of directors of various civic organizations. In a few occasional breaks from the media over the past four decades, he has continued his work as a mentor & vocational counsellor and has pursued his interest in creating pen & ink wildlife art.

Ward has received two major citations for exemplary personal conduct as a citizen, one from the city Saskatoon and one from the Order of St John of Jerusalem.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan