Departure from “Salut Bonjour”: “I made the right decision” – Gino Chouinard

MISE À DAY

Although he will be missed by his team and the viewers and he has been showered with expressions of affection since his announcement this morning, Gino Chouinard does not regret having decided to leave the animation of Salut Bonjour in June 2024.

He has questioned himself “once or twice” since he decided, after a serious summer reflection with his family, that it was time to turn the page after 21 years of getting up in the middle of the night to go work, but nothing will change his mind. 

“I made the right decision. I have many good years of TV left. I didn't want to leave and be disappointed, bitter. On the contrary, I leave telling myself what a beautiful ride I had”, he confided to the Journal, a few minutes after announcing the news to viewers of TVA's morning daily. 

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Mongrain proud of himself

One of the first to congratulate him was the other great pillar of Salut Bonjour, Guy Mongrain, who was at the bar of the show from 1991 to 2004. 

“He wrote me a nice message to tell me that he was proud and that he thought it was a good time for me to leave”, reveals Gino Chouinard, who says he is surprised by the reactions aroused by his announced departure. 

“I feel like at my funeral, he jokes. People tell me a lot of things that I didn't think about myself. I didn't think I was someone so useful to the team, that I was someone who secured them, who brought them together, who allowed them to shine. I didn't have that feeling. It surprises me and it touches me.” 

Mental load

In his on-air message, Gino Chouinard recalled that the animation of a morning show like Hi Hellowas demanding. 

How much? 

“I can quantify it in terms of working hours and mental load. In hours, it's a 9 to 10 hour day spent either preparing or delivering the show. On the other hand, I am always connected on possible content. In a week, I can send between 8 and 10 messages to my team on possible topics. I'm still in thinking mode for the next day's show. This mental load is added to the fifty hours put on the show.” 

Successor

Over the next 18 months, Gino Chouinard will continue his work as usual, but expects it to get more emotional the closer he gets to the end of his contract in June 2024. 

He didn't want move forward on the choice of the person who will succeed him. It could be a woman or a man, the important thing is to find the right person, he says. . I've never argued in 20 years of Hello, not even a spat. It takes someone who will be at the service of the viewer, at the service of his team and of TVA.” 

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