Victor Malarek


Victor Gregory Malarek is a Canadian journalist and author. Currently, he is a senior reporter for CTV Television's W-FIVE.

Biography

Born in Lachine, Quebec, Malarek was educated at the High School of Montreal, where he had a hard time, and in his youth he also experienced the child protection system. He gives a colourful account of his early days in his book Hey, Malarek!, which was a popular success and was made into a film.
From 1990 to 2000, Malarek was one of the hosts for CBC Television's the fifth estate. In 1997, he won a Gemini Award as Canada’s top broadcast journalist. Malarek also received four Michener Awards, three of these during his tenure with The Globe and Mail and the other at the fifth estate.
In the fifth estate episode , Malarek exposed police and prosecutorial misconduct that resulted in Calmar man Jason Dix's wrongful accusation of double murder. After the episode aired, Dix was awarded a judgment of almost $765,000.
Malarek entered the world of journalism in 1968 as a copy boy for Weekend Magazine, and joined The Montreal Star as a police reporter in 1970. His first major assignment was reporting on the Quebec October Crisis. He became a The Globe and Mail writer in 1976.
In 1989, he was portrayed by Elias Koteas in the feature movie Malarek, based on his first book Hey, Malarek!. These works depict the journalist's turbulent youth. The 16-part CBC Television fictional drama series Urban Angel in the 1991–1992 season was also inspired by Malarek's life. In 2020, his 1980s investigation of the arrest of Canadian drug addict Alain Olivier in Thailand was dramatized in the film Most Wanted, in which he was portrayed by Josh Hartnett.
Malarek is the author of seven books, the most recent of which, Orphanage 41, was self-published with FriesenPress in 2014.