As Global News’ Ottawa Bureau Chief and host of The West Block, Stephenson dominates coverage of federal politics and military affairs. With 20+ years experience from war zones to Parliament Hill, she specializes in:
Effective outreach requires:
Avoid pitches on:
We’ve followed Mercedes Stephenson’s two-decade journey from military analyst to one of Canada’s most influential political journalists. Her career began with a BA in Political Science and a Master’s in Strategic Studies from the University of Calgary, where she developed expertise in defense policy and international relations. Early roles included groundbreaking war zone reporting from Afghanistan and Iraq, where she became the youngest North American military analyst covering post-9/11 conflicts.
Key career milestones include:
Stephenson’s April 2025 investigation revealed internal party tensions within the Conservative campaign, analyzing candidate vetting failures through interviews with party insiders and leaked communications. Her reporting exposed how tariff policy disagreements with leader Pierre Poilievre led to last-minute candidate removals, fundamentally reshaping campaign narratives about party unity.
This nuanced April 2025 debate analysis combined instant polling data with body language expertise, assessing how leaders adjusted their messaging for Quebec voters. Stephenson highlighted Mark Carney’s economic crisis framing versus Poilievre’s softened rhetoric, providing crucial insights into campaign strategy shifts.
Stephenson’s September 2024 exclusive on military contingency planning demonstrated her defense policy expertise, blending classified source material with analysis of Canada’s evolving peacekeeping role. The report influenced parliamentary debates about intervention protocols.
Stephenson consistently amplifies trade policy impacts on national defense, as seen in her 2025 tariff coverage. Pitches should connect economic decisions to military readiness or international alliances, like how auto industry tariffs affect NORAD modernization budgets.
Her award-winning veterans affairs reporting (2020-2023) shows enduring interest in post-service support systems. Successful pitches highlight innovative public-private partnerships in mental health or job training.
With 4 election cycles covered, Stephenson prioritizes voting system security and disinformation prevention. Pitch forensic audits of election infrastructure or cybersecurity partnerships with NATO allies.
Since her landmark sexual misconduct reporting, she maintains focus on gender parity progress. Pitch stories about women in combat roles or LGBTQ+ inclusion in peacekeeping missions.
Her 2024 naval base investigation revealed deep interest in northern security. Pitch climate change’s impact on surveillance capabilities or indigenous-led defense initiatives.
2024 Canadian Screen Award for Best News Anchor: Recognized for balancing hard-hitting interviews with complex policy explanations during the SNC-Lavalin scandal coverage. This honor cemented her status as Canada’s premier political broadcaster.
2021 CAJ Scoop Award Nomination: For exposing systemic VA disability claim backlogs, leading to $210M in emergency funding. The series combined data journalism with veteran testimonials.
2019 RTDNA Dave Rogers Award: Honoring her embedded reporting with Canadian Special Forces, which set new standards for conflict zone transparency while maintaining operational security.
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Politics, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
