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Indian-origin news anchor Travis Dhanraj has resigned from Canada's CBC News, alleging he was sidelined for raising concerns over editorial bias and lack of diversity. In a farewell note, he described the channel as a "toxic workplace marked by exclusion and retaliation". Dhanraj intends to sue CBC, which has denied the charges.
Travis Dhanraj's lawyer said that he intents to sue the public broadcaster. (Image: Dhanraj/X)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jul 8, 2025 19:24 IST
Well-known Indian-origin news anchor Travis Dhanraj has resigned from Canada's national broadcaster, CBC News, accusing the channel of sidelining and silencing him, and of editorial imbalance. He plans to sue CBC, which has denied all the allegations.
The 42-year-old said he was left with no option but to resign after raising concerns about limited diversity of viewpoints and editorial independence in the newsroom.
Dhanraj claimed these concerns were met with silence.
The news anchor's lawyer has said that he intends to sue the public broadcaster.
In an internal note to fellow CBC staff sent out on Monday morning (Canada time), Dhanraj said he decided to leave the broadcaster after his questioning of some of the CBC's editorial decisions and the "gap between CBC's stated values and its internal reality" was met with resistance.
The CBC itself reported his exit, citing his internal e-mail to a fellow staff member, even as it denied the allegations.
SHUT OUT, SIDELINED AND ERASED, SAYS DHANRAJ
Dhanraj most recently anchored "Canada Tonight with Travis Dhanraj" on CBC News Network.
"This was not a voluntary decision," he wrote in the farewell message sent to various CBC group e-mail addresses from his CBC account, the media outlet reported.
"When I pushed for honest conversations about systemic issues and editorial imbalance, I was shut out. Sidelined. Silenced. And ultimately, erased," he wrote in the internal note.
The resignation followed a workplace culture marked by "retaliation, exclusion, and psychological harm," Dhanraj said.
"A place where asking hard questions – about tokenism masquerading as diversity, problematic political coverage protocols, and the erosion of editorial independence – became a career-ending move," the e-mail read.
Dhanraj has not appeared on air since early December 2024. In February 2025, Canada Tonight was replaced in its time slot by Hanomansing Tonight, hosted by Ian Hanomansing.
CBC NEWS HAS REJECTED THE ALLEGATIONS
CBC spokesperson Kerry Kelly said the Crown corporation "categorically rejects" Dhanraj's allegations about what led to his departure, including the assertion in his e-mail to staff that he had been "forced to resign".
She said the broadcaster is limited in what it can say because of "privacy and confidentiality considerations".
In April 2024, Dhanraj shared on X that it was "unfortunate" CBC president Catherine Tait had turned down an invitation to appear on Canada Tonight to discuss the growing political scrutiny facing the public broadcaster at the time.
His lawyer Kathryn Marshall claimed CBC wanted Dhanraj to sign a detailed non-disclosure agreement, which he refused to do.
In response to the X post, according to Dhanraj's lawyer, CBC temporarily removed Dhanraj from the air, according to a report in The Globe and Mail.
Dhanraj went on a leave of absence in July 2024. He returned to anchor Canada Tonight in early December.
Born in Calgary, Canada, Dhanraj has a 20-year career in broadcast journalism that started at CBC.
He became the Queen's Park bureau chief for Global News before returning to CBC as Senior Parliamentary Reporter. He also worked at CP24 and CTV News, according to his bio on CBC.
Travis graduated from Toronto's Radio & Television Arts Program at Ryerson University in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in communications, according to IMDb.
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Published By:
Gaurav Kumar
Published On:
Jul 8, 2025
