George Stroumboulopoulos

Biography

George is a broadcast veteran with more than 15 years of experience in radio and television. He began his journalism career in 1993 at a radio station in Kelowna, British Columbia and has since worked at Toronto sports radio station 'The Fan 590,' rock radio station 'The Edge 102.1, and MuchMusic. While at Much, Canada's music video station, George produced and hosted both The NewMusic, and MuchNews. In 2007, George returned to radio with The Strombo Show, a weekly three hour nationally syndicated music and talk show,

George Stroumboulopoulos is the now host of The Hour, the top rated late night talk show in Canada. Now in its fourth season, the program has won five Gemini Awards (Canada's equivalent to an Emmy Award),  including two for best talk series in Canada; two for best host in a talk program or series; and one for the production design of The Hour's set.

Interview

What music are you listening to/art are you checking out these days?

Music: Vampire Weekend, Marvels, City and Colour.

Art: Chris Langstroth. He paints bleakness in the community and in the landscape. At the same time there is a balance of the positive and the negative happening within his work.

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

Actually, I am more concerned about 40-somethings who don't vote. It's tough when you're young and getting your life together to fully know the issues or feel particularly well informed or passionate about politics. Someone shouldn't vote if they don't grasp the subject matter and it is just as important that young people put the pressure on older people to make sure they are informed enough to cast a vote

For you, is there a connection between art and democracy? What is it?

I guess in a democracy there is an openness to seeing and supporting various forms of expression, be it graffiti, dance, graphic arts, music. There is a beauty to art, and a beauty to having democracy, but it's incorrect to assume that just because there is a democracy that art will somehow be better. Some of the best art today is from countries and from people who have only known struggle without ever knowing democracy.

Why do you care about community, when it is so easy not to?

The Canadian experience tends to be that, whatever we do, we do as a group. What we accomplish, we like to try to do together. It's more about the collective experience overall and less about physically doing things. It's the mental connection to the same opportunities and the fact of having a shared goal.

It gets easy not to care about the community, it seems, when things start to go well for individuals and there is a loss in connecting to what is happening with others.

What do you look for in a politician? What do you expect from your MP?

I want a politician to be brave. To be altruistic and to have a vision. I expect an MP to live in their riding. I think it's gross that it is admissible for a politician to run in a riding where they don't live. It has definitely been a factor and affected who I have voted for in the past.