Ismaila Alfa, the host of CBC Toronto’s Metro Morning since 2020, has been named the new host of CBC Radio One’s Fresh Air.
Alfa will take the helm of the Ontario weekend morning show, beginning March 25. He succeeds Jason D’Souza, who took up hosting duties on CBC Victoria drive home show, All Points West, in January.
Born in Nigeria and raised in Winnipeg, Alfa was a hip hop musician prior to joining CBC Radio in 2008, where he started as a traffic reporter on the CBC Winnipeg morning show. He’d been the host of CBC Winnipeg afternoon drive show, Up to Speed, since 2013, before joining Metro Morning.
“It’s been an honour to serve Toronto audiences in the role of Metro Morning host and I am grateful to the Metro Morning team for everything we have achieved together,” said Alfa, in a release from the public broadcaster. “My passion is deeply rooted in arts, culture, community and people. I’m looking forward to reaching new audiences as host of Fresh Air.”
“I’m excited that people across the entire province will have the chance to get to know Ismaila when he steps into the role of host of Fresh Air,” added Ruth Zowdu, Senior Managing Director of CBC Ontario. “He’s warm and curious and he’s had a wide range of life experiences, including writing plays, and writing and performing music among other things, that inform his interviews.”
Fresh Air airs every Saturday and Sunday from 6 to 9 a.m. on CBC Radio One and CBC Listen.
CBC says the search for a new host for Metro Morning will begin immediately.
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