MONTREAL – Former Liberal Heritage Minister Liza Frulla has confirmed her great escape from the turbulent world of partisan politics, moving into the more soothing waters of travel television.
Frulla, who lost her seat in the federal election one year ago, has been named president of Canal Évasion, the independently-owned travel and leisure channel in Quebec.
She takes over from Serge Arsenault, the channel’s principal owner through Groupe Serdy. Arsenault will now focus on long-term development, possible acquisitions, and the company’s production wing, Serdy Vidéo.
Frulla expressed delight at the opportunity to get back into a field that she knows well. Before entering Quebec politics in 1989, she worked in advertising with Vickers & Benson, as marketing director with Labatt Breweries, and as vice-president of Télémédia.
She was also general manager of Montreal’s top-rated radio station in the 1980’s, CKAC, and between her political stops in Quebec City and Ottawa, she hosted a daily talk show on Radio-Canada TV from 1998 – 2002.
“I’ve known Serge Arsenault for 30 years, and we started talking about this, and really, it’s an opportunity to get back into an entrepreneurial role,” she said in an interview with Cartt.ca. “And it’s nice too, when you were once minister responsible for the CRTC, to go back and see the results of what you were working on.”
At the federal level (2002-06), Frulla (pictured) served as Heritage Minister; earlier as a Quebec Liberal (1989-98), she served as both Communications and Cultural Affairs minister.
On the job for just a few days, Frulla said she’s “in listening mode right now.” But there are immediate challenges ahead, she said, as the channel is moving towards HD studio production in the next few months.
“There’s also the Internet side that must be developed. We have to have a service component to the site and that’s going to take a few months.
“Plus it’s privately owned. So we’re going to have to look at our position in the market, and see if there are others with the same mission and to look at acquisitions,” she said.
Bell Globemedia held 50% of Canal Évasion when it went on the air in 2000. Arsenault took over as majority owner in 2002 and his Groupe Serdy now has about 92% control. Quebecor Media’s Groupe TVA holds the other 8%.
“It has a tough, well-administered management, and though it’s small compared to others, it’s making money,” she said. After losing money the first three years, the company turned the corner in 2003 and is now debt-free.
The channel has a small (0.5%) market share in Quebec with its specialized programming mix of travel, tourism, and leisure. But recently, it’s added live sporting events, such as the Tour de France, the Montreal International Marathon, and some Olympic coverage.
It’s also enlisted well-known Quebec artists as segment hosts, including actor Jean-Claude Germain, singer Martine St-Clair, and TV personality Marc-André Coallier.
“In these productions, we want to have people that viewers can relate to and have confidence in. But everything has to be about the content. I’m going to be tough about that. I want a program to have production value so that people can learn something.”
Meanwhile, even though Frulla has put politics “on hold” for now, she will continue to pop up now and then as political analyst on TV. She is also an associate professor at the Université de Sherbrooke, President of the Montreal Contemporary Art Museum Foundation, and Board Chair of Hexagram, a university research centre in media arts and technology.
Glenn Wanamaker is Cartt.ca’s Quebec editor and is based in Quebec City.
