George Finstad in 1972 with Marketplace co-host Joan Watson. (CBC) George Finstad, a former CBC announcer and the first host, with reporter Joan Watson, of CBC-TV's Marketplace, has died.

Finstad died Friday in hospital in Mississauga, Ont., his family has confirmed. He had been suffering from heart problems.

Finstad was the weekend anchor of CBC-TV's The National News in the 1970s, based in Toronto.

He was the calm voice who in October 1970 told Canadians on national television about the murder by kidnappers of Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte.

Working without a script, he relayed reports as they came in from CBC reporters across the country. Later he said it was the most challenging day of his career.

He also reported on the secret wedding in 1971 of then prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Margaret Sinclair.

In 1972, when CBC created the groundbreaking consumer affairs show Marketplace, Finstad was co-host, along with consumer affairs reporter Joan Watson.

He was nominated for an ACTRA award as best public affairs broadcaster for his work on the program.

Born in Edmonton, he broke into broadcasting at CKUA radio in 1953.

He quit for a year to make some money operating a dredge on the eastern shore of Great Bear Lake, but returned to broadcasting, working in Lloydminster and Victoria.

He joined CBC in Vancouver in 1964, working in a variety of positions on air. Among his assignments there was special feature reporter for the 1967 Centennial Year celebrations in British Columbia.

Finstad moved to Toronto briefly in 1965 as a summer replacement before going back to B.C. Then in 1968, he became weekend anchor on The National News, based out of Toronto.

George Finstad was the weekend anchor of CBC's nightly National News in the 1970s. (CBC)

He also backed up Lloyd Robertson, who was the weekday anchor at the time.

Peter Mansbridge, anchor of CBC TV's The National, recalled working as a correspondent in Western Canada and having reports introduced by Finstad, then an achor in Toronto.

"He was absolutely meticulous about the work he did — very focused, hard working, driven in the sense that he wanted to ensure everything he did was right and proper on air and it always was," Mansbridge said.

"I think back to watching George, I can never remember him making a mistake. He was always right on with everything, not only just the simple act of reading but ensuring he pronounced everything right. That can be a challenge in some newscasts," he said.

Finstad's voice can be heard doing the narration on many TV productions, including the documentary Who Owns the Sea? which he narrated with Gordon Pinsent.

A specially edited version of this program was later shown at United Nations environmental meetings held in Stockholm, Geneva and New York, which led to the Law of the Sea Conference in 1975.

He stayed with Marketplace until 1977, when he left to take a job in private radio in Montreal.

He later returned to CBC Television in Montreal, where he worked in television news. He retired from the CBC in 1990.

Finstad is survived by his wife Betty, children Laurie, Rob, Mark, Kathy and Kim, and grandchildren Emily, Julian, Mitchell and Rachael.