In September 2009, John Ibbitson returned to Canada to become Ottawa bureau chief for The Globe and Mail, capping a career of covering, analyzing and commenting on Canadian and American politics unmatched by any journalist in North America or beyond.

As Washington bureau chief for The Globe, Ibbitson witnessed the attacks of September 11. As Ottawa political affairs columnist, he wrote on the vicious civil war between Paul Martin and Jean Chretien, the rise of the Conservative Party, and Stephen Harper's 2006 election victory. And then he returned to the United States, to offer unparalleled coverage of the historic 2008 election, and Barack Obama's opening months as America's first black president. Now, he's back home, just in time for another crucial stretch in our nation's history.

The books he has written along the way -- Open & Shut: Why America Has Barack Obama and Canada Has Stephen Harper; The Polite Revolution: Perfecting the Canadian Dream and Loyal No More: Ontario's Struggle for a Separate Destiny -- have sparked controversies from Parliament to the Potomac. Prior to his stints in Ottawa and Washington, Ibbitson wrote plays and fiction, which helps explain the captivating polish of his style. His novel The Landing even won the Governor General's Award for Best Children's Book in 2008.