A graduate of the Mississauga campus of the University of Toronto, Dowbiggin has worked as a journalist for the Calgary Herald and The Globe and Mail and as a broadcaster for CBC Newsworld.
[5] Dowbiggin began his journalistic career with TV Guide magazine before transitioning to broadcasting with CBC Radio in 1984.
[8] Dowbiggin was the first Canadian journalist to report on investigations into Eagleson and how National Hockey League players' pensions were mismanaged, with a series of articles in 1991.
[10] Dowbiggin was critical of how slowly the Law Society of Upper Canada investigated the allegations against Eagleson, prior to another article published by Stevie Cameron.
He wrote the article "Pedal to the Medal", where he contrasted the efforts of Olympic hopeful Tanya Dubnicoff to athletes that had better funding.
[18][19] When an opportunity arose to replace longtime journalist Bill Houston at The Globe and Mail, Dowbiggin earned a job writing the media column.
[23] As of 2017[update], he contributes to SiriusXM Canada Talks Channel 167, and hosts a podcast titled The Full Count With Bruce Dowbiggin.