Beyond Politics Environment Minister and Conservative MP Peter Kent is best known to Canadians as a longtime Global, CBC, and CTV news personality before his election to Parliament for Thornhill, Ont.Born in England, Kent grew up mostly in Calgary, where his father was a respected journalist and editor with the Southam newspaper chain.  He took a circuitous route to becoming a journalist himself: naval midshipman, folk singer, and a job as operator with Vancouver’s CJOR radio. Kent covered the Beatles during their 1964 visit to the west coast, and then moved to Calgary’s CFCN-TV as weatherman. In 1966, he went to Vietnam at the height of the war and produced  freelance stories for anyone who would air or publish them. Charles Templeton at CTV  took notice and Peter  became a regular contributor. Kent returned to Canada in the 1970s where he worked as a producer on CBC’s The National. When Lloyd Robertson gave up the anchor’s seat to move to rival CTV in 1976, Kent got the job. Two years later, Kent after complaining about political interference from the Prime Minister’s Officel left the CBC to begin a  new career at NBC where he won four Emmy Awards for his reporting. In the 1990s Kent returned once more to Canada where he became anchor on the Global Television Network.Married to wife Celia for over 26 years, they have one daughter, Trilby. Peter Kent likes to work around the house, displaying a talent for stained glass windows and playing music.