In this series of short profiles, Capital Current introduces key persons of influence in the city to the community.
Who is she?
At age four, Judy Trinh fled Vietnam with her family, a journey that would teach her resilience and shape her career as one of Canada’s best-known broadcast journalists.
The national political and investigative correspondent with CTV News, is considered a trailblazer for the representation of Asian-Canadians in Canadian media and an advocate for giving voice to the voiceless.
What’s her background?
Trinh’s family fled post-war Vietnam in 1979 on a small fishing boat, spending five days at sea before landing in a Malaysian refugee camp. After three months, Canadian immigration officers resettled the family in Canada, where Trinh grew up and found a passion for writing.
In an interview with the Montreal Gazette, Trinh said she believes she got her knack for storytelling from her mother, who did freelanced for newspapers in Vietnam.
What is she known for in Ottawa?
Trinh’s career in journalism includes working with CBC’s The National, Ottawa Magazine and now with CTV News. Aside from reporting on Parliament Hill, she volunteers with refugee groups and mentors immigrant journalists at New Canadian Media.
What do people say about her?
Nazim Baksh, veteran journalist and a previous mentor at New Canadian Media, worked alongside Trinh at CBC’s The National and on a documentary for CBC’s The Fifth Estate titled “Fatal Care: Investigating For-Profit Foster Homes.” He described working with her as “amazing.”
“She is a refined journalist and a class act. From digging, fact-checking, to writing and conducting interviews on touchy and highly sensitive topics, Judy was, and surely she remains, one of Canada’s finest journalists.”
What’s something people don’t know about her?
Trinh occasionally moderates events at the Vietnamese Canadian Federation, sharing her perspective as a refugee and a journalist with a prominent career in Canadian media.
“It’s nice to see somebody from our community being so successful,” said Minhtri Truong, president of the Vietnamese Canadian Federation. “In the media, it’s remarkable and striking to have that sort of representation.”
