Power Play with Vassy Kapelos is CTV News Channel’s daily marquee political program from Monday to Friday at 5 p.m. ET. Keep scrolling to learn more about regular political panellists. The Front Bench Rachel Aiello Rachel Aiello covers the latest political news from CTV’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa as a national correspondent. A member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery since 2014, Rachel has covered everything from high-profile political scandals to the Freedom Convoy protests. Rachel is also the author of CTV News’ Capital Dispatch newsletter, a weekly update on the latest news from the minority Parliament when it’s in session. From Peterborough, Rachel moved to Ottawa where she graduated from the University of Ottawa’s joint journalism program with Algonquin College. Erika Barootes Erika Barootes is the President of the Alberta Enterprise Group, an independent, Alberta-based business organization. She has long been part of the conservative movement at all levels in Alberta, working for and with several Alberta Premiers, most recently as Principal Secretary to Premier Danielle Smith, while holding senior roles across ministerial portfolios and managing the legislative agenda for government caucus. As the first President of the United Conservative Party, Erika played a central role in preparing the party to form government in 2019 and 2023. Beyond politics, she co-hosts The Discourse, a Canadian politics podcast, and is an Alberta senator-elect. Regina-born and now based in the capital region, Erika studied political science at the University of Calgary. Karl Bélanger Traxxion Strategies President Karl Bélanger has worked for NDP leaders for nearly two decades, joining the Parliamentary wing shortly after the 1997 Federal election. During his political career, Karl served as a senior advisor to four successive NDP leaders, most notably as senior press secretary to Jack Layton and principal secretary to Thomas Mulcair. After acting as national director of the NDP in 2016, Karl retired from politics to become a strategic communications and public relations consultant. Robert Benzie Robert Benzie is Queen’s Park Bureau Chief for the Toronto Star. Prior to joining the Star in 2003, he was a political reporter at the National Post, a paper he helped launch in 1998. He began his career at the Toronto Sun and Ottawa Sun. A National Newspaper Award and Michener Award nominee, he has covered numerous federal, provincial and municipal elections and party leadership contests. Born in Australia to a Jamaican mother and a Scottish father, he is a proud Canadian and a graduate of Royal St. George’s College, Western University, and Concordia University. He lives in Toronto with his wife, two children, and a cavapoo who has made cameo appearances on Power Play. Shakir Chambers Shakir is a public affairs professional with over two decades of experience navigating politics and business. He has advised federal and provincial governments, political campaigns, and business leaders on policy and issues management. His career has also included serving on Parliament Hill in the Prime Minister’s Office and as a policy advisor to a former federal Minister of International Trade. Shakir remains active in Canada’s political and public policy community, with a particular interest in mentoring emerging leaders and sharing his experience with the next generation of professionals pursuing careers in politics and public affairs. Christy Clark Christy is the former premier of British Columbia and now senior advisor with internationally-recognized Canadian law firm Bennett Jones. During her political career, she also served as minister of education, minister of children and family and vice-chair of treasury board. Christy retired from political life in 2017 as the longest-serving female Premier in Canadian history and the only woman in Canada ever to be re-elected as Premier. At the time of her departure, British Columbia had been Canada’s economic leader for three years running—the first time that had happened since the 1960s. Jamie Ellerton Jamie Ellerton is the Founding Partner at Conaptus, bringing over 20 years of strategic communications experience from the intersection of community engagement, politics, public policy and media. He helps leaders and organizations navigate complexities in the marketing and public relations landscape to empower changemakers to succeed. Prior to founding Conaptus, Jamie worked for the federal Conservative Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and Ontario’s Leader of the Opposition at Queen’s Park. He has worked on centre-right campaigns at all three levels of governments across Canada. Jamie and his husband Dominic live in Toronto. Brian Gallant Brian Gallant is the CEO of Space Canada and a special advisor to the president of Ontario Tech University. He served as the 33rd premier of New Brunswick from 2014 to 2018. In addition to this role, Brian was the Attorney General, the minister responsible for innovation, and the minister responsible for women’s equality. In 2018, he led his Premier colleagues as the chair of the Council of the Federation. When he left office at age 36, he was the youngest premier in Canada at the time and second youngest in history. Louis Hamann Louis Hamann has over 25 years of experience in the fields of communications, politics, business and diplomacy. He most recently served as senior advisor to Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, and also served as his communications director and chief strategist in the foreign affairs and industry file. Prior to working in Ottawa, Louis spent more than 10 years with the Quebec government, holding several senior positions at Quebec government offices in Paris, New York, Washington and Sao Paulo. Prior to his government service, Louis had a 12-year career as a journalist with the CBC, including working as a United Nations correspondent in New York. Sharan Kaur Sharan is a CTV News Political Analyst, Principal at Navigator and a seasoned political strategist with nearly 20 years of experience. She’s the former Deputy Chief of Staff to former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau, where she served as the political liaison for the G20 and G7 within Canada’s Department of Finance. In the energy sector, she has also contributed to significant infrastructure projects across North America, including the Energy East and Keystone XL pipelines. Marco Mendicino Marco served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Mark Carney in 2025. Before that, he was the Liberal MP for Eglinton—Lawrence from 2015 to 2025 and held key cabinet posts in the Trudeau government, including Minister of Immigration and Minister of Public Safety. He also worked as a federal prosecutor for ten years before entering politics. Kathleen Monk Kathleen Monk is a seasoned strategist and veteran of numerous federal and provincial political campaigns. She served as director of communications to the late Jack Layton, serving as spokesperson and war-room director for the historic 2011 federal campaign. An award-winning communicator, Kathleen has directed campaigns recognized internationally for their advertising and media relations. Now President of Monk + Associates, Kathleen works with business and civic leaders to build strategies to secure public affairs victories. Before entering her career in politics, Kathleen worked in newsrooms in Toronto, Ottawa, and Washington, D.C. James Moore James Moore is a public policy adviser at the global firm Edelman and a corporate director. He previously served as Canada’s minister of industry, minister of Canadian heritage and official languages under former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, secretary of state for the Asia Pacific Gateway and minister for the 2010 Olympics over a five-term, 15-year career as a member of Parliament. He was the senior regional minister for the province of British Columbia and was the youngest cabinet minister and Member of Parliament in B.C.’s history. He served as national vice-chair of the Canadian Cancer Society, was a member of the NAFTA Council for the Government of Canada and was the sixth chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). Fluently bilingual in French and English, he holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Northern BC and a master of arts from the University of Saskatchewan. Dan Moulton Dan is a partner at Crestview Strategy in Toronto. He is a Liberal campaign strategist who has more than a decade of political experience, serving in senior political roles in the Ontario governments of Kathleen Wynne and Dalton McGuinty. Across various roles, Dan has provided strategic leadership on some of the highest-stakes files, including one of the largest initial public offerings in Canadian history, two minority government budgets and a plan to cut the cost of electricity by twenty-five percent. Tom Mulcair A retired Canadian politician and now political analyst for CTV News, Tom Mulcair was the former leader of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2012 to 2017, serving as leader of the Official Opposition from 2012 to 2015. He previously held positions as Member of the National Assembly of Québec for Chomedey, Member of the Canadian Parliament for Outremont, and he served as Québec Minister of the Environment. Outside of politics, he was a lawyer and is now a university professor. Lisa Raitt Lisa is vice chair in the Office of the CEO at CIBC. She was elected to the House of Commons in 2008, serving as Minister of Natural Resources, Minister of Labour and Minister of Transport. In 2015, Lisa was appointed finance critic for the Official Opposition and in 2017 she was appointed Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition and Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. She is a Woodrow Wilson Center Global Fellow of the Canada Institute and was also the former president and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority. James Rajotte James Rajotte served as Alberta’s Senior Representative to the United States from May 1, 2020 until January 31, 2025. Following that, he then served as the Special Advisor to the Alberta Premier on U.S. relations until August 2025. James was also a Conservative member of parliament for 15 years, representing Edmonton-Southwest from 2000 to 2004 and Edmonton-Leduc from 2004 to 2015. Outside of politics, James was also Vice President Rogers Communications for five years. Dimitri Soudas Corporate executive, entrepreneur and former senior political advisor Dimitri Soudas spent more than a decade working alongside Prime Minister Stephen Harper, serving in senior roles including Director of Communications and Chief Spokesperson to the Prime Minister. He later served as Executive Director of the Conservative Party of Canada and as Executive Director of the Canadian Olympic Committee, where he was also Press Chief for the Canadian Olympic Team. Since leaving federal politics, Dimitri has built a career in the private sector as a corporate executive and entrepreneur, holding senior leadership roles in investments and acquisitions, real estate, international, entertainment and international economic affairs. He is also the co-founder of Kids Childcare + Preschool. Dimitri is a frequent political commentator in both English and French, providing analysis on Canadian politics and public policy. Laura Stone Laura Stone is an award-winning journalist who joined the Globe and Mail in 2016. She’s reported on Parliament Hill and from across the country including Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto, and now covers politics at Queen’s Park. Born and bred in Ottawa, Laura likes to dabble in both federal and provincial politics and enjoys profiling politicians over lunch, because no one ever regretted a good meal. She spends her free time chasing after her young son. Laura also appears weekly on CTV’s Your Morning. Marieke Walsh Marieke is a senior political reporter in The Globe and Mail’s Ottawa bureau. She has covered politics since 2011, first on Parliament Hill, then in Halifax and Toronto, before heading back to the Hill in 2019. Among many stories, she has covered two federal elections, a global pandemic, the fallout of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Queen’s funeral. In 2020, she was part of a team of Globe reporters that won a National Newspaper Award for their coverage of the WE Charity controversy.
