Originally published in the April 2, 2026 edition of The Weekly Briefing

Avi Lewis has secured the federal NDP leadership. The veteran broadcaster and filmmaker is arguably best known for his time as host of CounterSpin on CBC Newsworld, and shows like The Big Picture with Avi Lewis and On the Map. Prior to his work with the public broadcaster, he hosted The New Music on Citytv and MuchMusic from 1996-98. He’s gone on to collaborate on award-winning documentaries and docuseries, including The Take (a collaboration with his wife – author and journalist Naomi Klein), This Changes Everything, and A Message From the Future with U.S. congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Kirk LaPointe has penned his final column for Glacier Media as he announces his candidacy for Mayor of the Regional District of West Vancouver in the Oct. 17 municipal election. LaPointe is a former CBC Ombudsman and previously served as CTV’s Senior VP of News, publisher of BIV (Business in Vancouver), and was a talk host on Roundhouse Radio (CIRH-FM) Vancouver from 2015-18. He was previously a City of Vancouver mayoral candidate in 2014.

Samantha Morris Mastai has been upped to Director of Development, Comedy at CBC. She takes over from Greig Dymond, who retired at the end of last year. Morris Mastai previously held the title of Executive in Charge of Current Production, Comedy. 

Daniel Bouchard is retiring from Radio-Canada after four decades with the network. Most recently the anchor of the weekend Ottawa-Gatineau newscast, his final broadcast will air on April 26.

Susan Campbell is retiring from CBC Quebec after 34 years. Originally from Cape Breton, Campbell has been a journalist with the public broadcaster since 1991, serving as a producer and host for Breakaway and Quebec AM, among other shows.

Betsy Trumpener is retiring from CBC in Northern BC. Based in Prince George, Trumpener has been with the public broadcaster for 25 years, working in various roles – including reporting, hosting, writing and producing – across radio, podcast, regional and national news.

Sidhartha Banerjee is joining CBC Montreal on the assignment desk. Banerjee arrives from The Canadian Press (CP) where he’s been a Montreal-based reporter and editor since 2007.

Eli J. Ridder has joined The Canadian Press (CP) as a reporter, covering New Brunswick. He’ll be based in Fredericton. Ridder arrives from CBC in Medicine Hat, where he’s been part of the public broadcaster’s newly-established bureau there for the past nine months. Prior to that, he was a reporter with Pattison Media in the market.

Dan Ahlstrand is now the host of Nova Scotia Today on 95.7 NewsRadio (CJNI-FM) Halifax, following Todd Veinotte’s retirement. Ahlstrand, who also doubles as the station’s news director, had been filling in for Veinotte off and on as the host underwent treatment for Parkinson’s over the last few years. Veinotte had been a host with Rogers Sports & Media since 2008.

Bruce Wylie is set to retire from My Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and 104.9 myFM (CIMY-FM) Brockville on April 7, which Brockville City Council has declared Bruce Wylie Appreciation Day. Wylie has been on-air in the community for 55 years, with April 7 also marking the day he was hired by CHJR in 1971 as a nighttime DJ. 

Amanda Abergel has been appointed General Sales Manager for My Broadcasting Corporation’s 91.7 Classic Rock Giant FM (CIXL-FM) Welland and Niagara’s New Country 89.1 (CKYY-FM). Local to the area, she joins the Niagara radio team after 15 years in sales and business development, including working with Yellow Pages and Royal LePage.

Ben Davy has joined 680 NewsRadio (CFTR-AM) Toronto, taking on weeknight overnight traffic duties after a six-year absence from radio. Davy was the original morning man at LIFE 100.3 (CJLF-FM) Barrie for 13 years, prior to joining Corus Radio in Barrie and later Skywords Media from 2017-19. The part-time position allows Davy to continue helming play-by-play for the Canadian Baseball League’s Barrie Baycats on YouTube and Rogers TV.

Joelle Tomlinson has announced her departure from Global Calgary. Tomlinson had been with the station since 2023, most recently as a weather and news anchor.

Jane Lytvynenko has joined NBC News as a Senior Technology Reporter. Based in New York, she’ll cover how tech and conflict intersect and the impact of tech on the stories of the day. Lytvynenko, a former Senior Reporter for BuzzFeed in Toronto, has been freelancing since 2022, including contributing to the Wall Street Journal’s Ukraine coverage.

Taylor Lucas has left Curiocity Media Group after three years to join Postmedia as a lifestyle journalist. Lucas started with the Daily Hive publisher as Regional Editor in 2023 and moved up to Associate Editor last year. She previously worked for ET Canada, TSN and Rogers Sports & Media as a producer. 

Elizabeth Firth has been appointed Senior Vice President, Partnerships & Commercial Strategy at Blink49 Studios. Based in New York. Firth joins Blink49 from influencer marketing company Influential, where she served as VP, Brand Partnerships. Earlier in her career, she spent 14 years at UM Worldwide, most recently as SVP, Client Business Partner. Blink49 has also hired Melissa Lacks as Senior Director, Sales, Brand Studio. Lacks previously served as Sales Director, Brand Partnerships at Moonbug Entertainment. Prior to Moonbug, she was Director of Media at VaynerMedia, overseeing campaigns for clients including Sour Patch Kids, Clif Bar, PepsiCo, and Mondelez, across social, streaming, and CTV platforms.

Claire Macdonald, Realscreen‘s former longtime publisher and Executive Director of NATPE (National Association of Television Program Executives), will be moving on from Brunico Communications to pursue other opportunities as the company exits the U.S. event space and discontinues the Realscreen Summit and sister events Kidscreen Summit and NATPE Global. MacDonald had worked with Brunico since 2000.