Chantal Hébert is a freelance political columnist frequently featured on the radio, television, and in print, in both French and English. She is a weekly participant on CBC The National’s political panel “At Issue” as well as on Peter Mansbridge’s podcast, Good Talk, on Sirius XM. A prolific journalist who is passionate about Canadian politics ― particularly in relation to Quebec ― Hébert speaks with authority and passion on public policy and other matters of national importance.
Hébert began her career in Toronto as a reporter for the regional newsroom of Radio-Canada in 1975 before moving on to Parliament Hill. She served as parliamentary bureau chief for Le Devoir and La Presse prior to joining the Toronto Star as a political columnist.
A graduate of Glendon College at York University, Hébert is currently a Senior Fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto with honorary degrees from a dozen Canadian Universities. She is a recipient of two Asia-Pacific media fellowships (Malaysia and Japan) and was awarded the APEX Public Service Award in 2005, the Hyman Solomon award for excellence in journalism and public policy in 2006, and York University’s Pinnacle Achievement Bryden Alumni award. In 2019, Hébert’s peers in the Parliamentary Press Gallery awarded her the Charles Lynch or her longstanding coverage of national issues, and most recently, she received the Michener-Baxter award for excellence in journalism.
Hébert is the author of two books: French Kiss: Stephen Harper’s Blind Date with Quebec, and her most recent book, The Morning After: The 1995 Quebec Referendum and the Day That Almost Was. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2019 and the National Order of Quebec in 2025.
