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Ben Mulroney

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Ben Mulroney
Mulroney at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival eTalk Star Schmooze
Born
Benedict Martin Paul Mulroney

(1976-03-09) March 9, 1976 (age 48)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Alma materDuke University
Université Laval
OccupationBroadcaster
Years active2002–present
Notable credit(s)etalk (2002–2020)
Canadian Idol (2003–2008)
Your Morning (2016–2021)
Spouse
​
(m. 2008)​
Children3
Parent(s)Brian Mulroney
Mila Pivnički
RelativesCaroline Mulroney (sister)
Mark Mulroney (brother)
Nicolas Mulroney (brother)

Benedict Martin Paul Mulroney (born March 9, 1976) is a Canadian radio host and former television host. He is the eldest son of Brian Mulroney, the 18th Prime Minister of Canada.

Best known for his 20-year broadcasting career with the Canadian network CTV, Mulroney began as an entertainment reporter on CTV's former morning show Canada AM in 2001, and co-hosted the entertainment news program etalk from 2002 to 2020, Canadian Idol from 2003 to 2008, and CTV's national morning show Your Morning from 2016 to 2021. Mulroney departed etalk in June 2020. A year later, on September 29, 2021, Mulroney departed both Your Morning and CTV to pursue a producing career.

More recently, Mulroney hosted Toronto This Weekend on Talk 640 in Toronto and in November 2024 became host of a daily afternoon show on the station.

Early life and education

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Mulroney was born in Montreal, Quebec and grew up in Ottawa, Ontario. He is the second of four children born to former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mila Pivnicki Mulroney, who is of Serbian descent. Mulroney is one of several children of former Prime Ministers who became Canadian media personalities between 1998 and 2001.

His older sister, Caroline, is the President of the Treasury Board of Ontario and Minister of Francophone Affairs, having been an unsuccessful candidate for the 2018 Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election. Maclean's later revealed that he helped her rehearse scripts during the leadership campaign.[1]

Mulroney attended Lycée Claudel d'Ottawa and the Hotchkiss School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in history, from Duke University. He subsequently earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from Université Laval.[2] During the Oliphant hearings, it was revealed that all the Mulroney children's university educations were paid from the cash that their father received from Karlheinz Schreiber.[3]

Career

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In the late 1990s, Mulroney wrote a regular column for the Toronto Sun. He began his career as an entertainment reporter as the Quebec City correspondent for The Chatroom in 2000 on CTV-owned digital channel Talktv and became one of five co-hosts of the show in July 2001.[4] From 2001 to 2002, he was entertainment reporter on Canada AM. He hosted Canadian Idol from 2003 to 2008.

CTV: etalk

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Mulroney is best known as the former host of the entertainment news program etalk from 2002 to 2020, where he covered major events in entertainment, including the Oscars, the Golden Globes, and the Juno Awards. In April 2009, Mulroney added radio show host to his résumé with the launch of the CHUM Radio show, etalk 20.[5] The two-hour radio program was broadcast on 11 radio stations across Canada and counted down the top 20 chart-topping hits and includes celebrity interviews.

In 2006, he was appointed as the National Ambassador for UNICEF Canada.[6] In February 2010, Mulroney and other staff from etalk covered the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games for CTV.[5]

On June 22, 2020, Mulroney announced his resignation as host of etalk saying, "More than ever, we need more Black voices, more Indigenous voices, more people of colour in the media as well as every other profession – and that is why I have decided to immediately step away from my role at etalk to create space for a new perspective and a new voice."[7] His resignation came in the wake of a controversy in which his wife was accused of harassing Sasha Exeter, a black influencer.[8]

Your Morning

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In June 2016, he was announced as the cohost, with Anne-Marie Mediwake, of CTV's new morning show Your Morning, which replaced the venerable Canada AM.[9] He left the program, effective October 1, 2021, in order to "pursue a career as a producer, developing unique projects for both Canadian and global audiences".[10][11]

Radio

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Mulroney has been an on-air contributor at 640 Toronto since October 2023, appearing on the station's morning show, Toronto Today, as well as filling in as a substitute radio host when regular hosts such as Greg Brady and John Oakley are away.[12] He hosted Toronto This Weekend until November 2024 when he was given a daily afternoon timeslot on the station.[13]

American career

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Mulroney joined ABC News in June 2012 as a contributor to Good Morning America. Former ABC News President Ben Sherwood announced that Mulroney would be temporarily substituting for Dan Harris during the weekends, while serving as contributor to Good Morning America.[14] This followed Mulroney's previous stints as temporary co-host with Kelly Ripa on Live with Kelly.[15]

Personal life

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Mulroney at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

Mulroney became engaged to his girlfriend of one year, fashion designer and stylist Jessica Brownstein, on December 28, 2007 in Montreal.[16] They were married on October 30, 2008 in a private ceremony at St. Patrick's Basilica, Montreal.[17] Mulroney first met Brownstein when they were both teenagers through his younger brother Mark, who was a student at the all-boys Selwyn House School during the same time she was a student at sister school Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School.[18][19][20]

They have 3 children: sons, who are fraternal twins, Brian Gerald Alexander Mulroney and John Benedict Dimitri Mulroney (born August 12, 2010) and daughter Isabel Veronica Mulroney known as "Ivy" (born June 12, 2013).[21][22]

Ben and Jessica Mulroney attended the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and their three children participated as page boys and bridesmaid.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Caroline Mulroney's mad scramble to make a name for herself - Macleans.ca". Macleans.ca. 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  2. ^ HEY THERE BEN, IT'S TIME TO GROW UP
  3. ^ Thompson, Elizabeth (May 21, 2009). "Schreiber cash helped Mulroney's kids go to prestigious universities". Sarnia Observer. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  4. ^ Honey, Kim (June 7, 2000). "Son of Mulroney ready to chat". Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "CTV News - Top Stories". Retrieved October 6, 2014. [dead link‍]
  6. ^ "CTV News: Ben Mulroney appointed to UNICEF Canada post". Retrieved October 6, 2014. [dead link‍]
  7. ^ "Ben Mulroney stepping down as host of CTV's etalk". ctvnew.ca. June 22, 2020.
  8. ^ "Ben Mulroney stepping down as anchor of 'etalk' in wake of scandal involving Jessica Mulroney". CP24. Canadian Press. June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  9. ^ Peter Edwards (2016-06-06). "Ben Mulroney, Anne-Marie Mediwake to host CTV's new show 'Your Morning'". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  10. ^ "Ben Mulroney leaving CTV's Your Morning to pursue 'a lifelong dream'". CTV News. Canadian Press. September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  11. ^ "Ben Mulroney exiting Your Morning to pursue producing career | Toronto Sun".
  12. ^ "Ben Mulroney, Steve Paikin among those joining 640 Toronto as contributors". Broadcast Dialogue. October 5, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  13. ^ "Toronto This Weekend".
  14. ^ ABC News. "Ben Mulroney Joins ABC News as Contributor". ABC News Blogs. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  15. ^ Ben Mulroney set for GMA, theglobeandmail.com; accessed October 20, 2015.
  16. ^ "CTV News - Top Stories". Archived from the original on January 2, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  17. ^ "Ben Mulroney weds fashion designer in Montreal". Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  18. ^ The love story behind Toronto's Ben and Jessica Mulroney
  19. ^ Selwyn House School Yearbook 1996
  20. ^ The ECS Newsletter
  21. ^ "Ben and Jessica Mulroney welcome twin boys". CTVNews. 12 August 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  22. ^ "Mulroney Baby Girl Arrives For Ben and Jessica", The Huffington Post Canada; retrieved June 18, 2013.
  23. ^ Mulroney children will join Princess Charlotte, Prince George as bridesmaids, page boys Retrieved May 16, 2018
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