Tony Parsons came to Canada in 1948 and was raised in Sarnia, Ontario with his five siblings. He studied at the Ryerson Institute in Toronto, studying radio and television arts. He worked for various radio jobs in Stratford, Guelph, and Hamilton, before landing in Toronto. After a brief stint with CHUM, he took a television job as a reporter and a news anchor with CTV.

A short time later, Parsons jumped at the opportunity to fill the 6:00 anchor spot on CHAN in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he has held that position for almost 30 years. He was also the anchor of Canada Tonight, a CHAN-produced newscast which aired on stations owned by Western International Communications until that company was acquired by the Global Television Network. In 2004, he was awarded the Webster's Award for lifetime achievement. He has now worked in the media for almost 50 years.