Rosemary Barton named as permanent host for CBC’s ‘Power and Politics’

OTTAWA – The CBC has named Rosemary Barton as full-time host of its high-profile “Power and Politics” TV show.

Barton has been interim host of the afternoon program since the broadcaster severed ties with Evan Solomon last summer.

Solomon’s departure followed a report that he had been brokering lucrative art deals with people he dealt with through his job.

Solomon said he never intentionally used his position at CBC to promote a private business partnership in which he was involved.

Barton has been a regular contributor and guest host on “Power and Politics” since 2009.

She started her journalism career in her home town of Winnipeg as a researcher for CBC’s French news network, RDI, and became a legislative reporter at Quebec’s national assembly in 2004.

As a reporter with CBC’s parliamentary bureau, Barton covered the 2008 and 2011 federal elections as well as a host of other major stories.

“Rosie is a leader and one of this country’s best political journalists,” said Jennifer McGuire, general manager and editor-in-chief of CBC News, English Services.

“Her hosting and interviewing skills, seen daily on ‘Power and Politics,’ have great resonance with the audience, both new viewers and existing viewers. We are thrilled that she has agreed to take this on permanently.”

After leaving the CBC, Solomon hosted a political radio show on SiriusXM Canada and became a columnist for Maclean’s magazine. On Tuesday, he was named host of the afternoon program on CFRA radio in Ottawa.