Longtime CBC fans can celebrate: Bernard St-Laurent is back at the mic

CBC Montreal Daybreak has a new political analyst — a familiar voice to many CBC listeners.

He's veteran radio host and political observer Bernard St-Laurent.

"I'm excited to come back. We're heading into a very interesting period in Quebec politics," said St-Laurent.

"I'm happy to be given an opportunity to contribute to Daybreak's coverage as we move toward the next provincial election."

St-Laurent joined CBC in 1981, opening the English-language service's first bureau in the Eastern Townships and working as a National Assembly Reporter.

He went on to play many roles at CBC in Quebec, including national reporter, host of Radio Noon and host of the network radio show C'est La Vie.

The role of political commentator on Daybreak is one with which St-Laurent is familiar: leading up to his retirement, he had a weekly column on the show.

The audience was sad to see him go.

• Bernard St-Laurent, veteran reporter, retiring from CBC
• Bernard St-Laurent paid tribute during his final C'est La Vie broadcast

Plugged in, as always

Since retiring from CBC Montreal in June 2015, St-Laurent has been keeping busy — in addition to spending time with his family and his grandchildren, he's been volunteering.

"I've done a lot of volunteer work as a peer mentor with the MUHC's Recovery Transition Program, which works with people recovering from mental health and/or addiction issues," said St-Laurent.

Of course, he hasn't stepped far away from the political sphere.

"I find politics fascinating, so I've been keeping abreast of what's been happening in the United States, the U.K. and France," he said.

Tune into CBC Daybreak Thursday mornings at 7:40 to catch Bernard St-Laurent's weekly political analysis.

Have a message for Bernie? Weigh in on our Facebook page, send a tweet with #berniesback or comment below.