Former (open Rob Ford's policard)Rob Ford (open Rob Ford's policard) press secretary Adrienne Batra will be taking over the reins at the Toronto Sun on June 1, owner Postmedia announced Tuesday.

At the same time, the company said current editor-in-chief Wendy Metcalfe, who was also at the helm of the Ottawa Sun and free commuter daily 24HRS Toronto, will be leaving the company.

“Adrienne brings tremendous energy, political acumen and experience to our leadership team,” James Wallace, vice-president editorial, Suns, and former Sun editor, said in a statement. “She is a perfect fit for the Sun — tough, outspoken, informed and determined to stick up for the little guy!”

The announcement comes less than two months after Postmedia, publisher of the National Post and other Canadian daily newspapers, finalized its $316-million purchase of 175 newspapers from Quebecor, including the Sunchain.

A Postmedia spokeswoman refused to say if Metcalfe was fired or resigned. “As a company, we do not discuss HR-related matters,” said Georgia Sourtzis.

A familiar face from the early years of the Ford administration, Batra left the mayor’s office in 2011 to become comment editor and columnist at the Sun before moving to the now-defunct Sun News Network in 2013 to host a talk show. She was also a regular guest on radio station Newstalk 1010.

“I’m really looking forward to working with everybody again and continuing the amazing work that previous editors have done with the Toronto Sun,” she told the Star.

A fiscal conservative and former Manitoba director of the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation, Batra was known at City Hall as one of the few people Ford absolutely trusted.

She helped him weather many episodes of bad publicity before the 2013 revelations that he smoked crack — including incidents in which he allegedly gave the finger to a mother and her daughter while driving and talking on his cellphone, and made a profane 911 phone call after encountering comedian Mary Walsh in his driveway.

“It’s long overdue,” Ford’s brother, Doug Ford, told the Starof Batra’s hiring. “She’s a great person, fair and balanced, will call it the way it is. I did not see eye-to-eye with the previous editor.”

He added that Batra “is not going to have a left-wing view, she’s going to have the right view, the correct view.”

When asked if she’s looking to shake up the political ideology at the traditionally right-of-centre Sun — which endorsed John Tory (open John Tory's policard) for mayor last year instead of Doug Ford — Batra said, “The Toronto Sun will continue to be a voice for the little guy in this great city of ours.”

Metcalfe, who Batra said did “a terrific job,” became the Toronto Sun’s first female editor-in-chief in July 2013, after overseeing the St. Catharines Standard.

“I was fortunate to work with exceptional teams, who I cannot thank enough,” she said on Twitter Tuesday. “They achieved amazing results and should be immensely proud.”

Her departure was met with sadness by many of her colleagues in the Sun newsroom, with many taking to Twitter to share their reaction.

“I’m heartbroken,” sports columnist Steve Simmons told the Star. “I loved working with Wendy Metcalfe. In my 28 years at the Sun, she was the best.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Postmedia announced that Ottawa Citizen city editor Keith Bonnell will become editor at the Ottawa Sun.

With files from Star staff

Read more about: