Your Sun just got a whole lot brighter.

Veteran national columnist Lorne Gunter is joining our family to bring his hard-hitting take on politics and cutting wit to our pages, our websites and our TV station.

"I'm thrilled to be with Sun Media and thrilled to get even more in depth on local and provincial politics," says Gunter who has left the National Post to join the Sun.

The Medicine Hat-born journalist has built a loyal following for his unrepentant take on political affairs since 1991, when he started at Alberta Report. He became managing editor while covering federal and provincial politics at the magazine that bred some of Canada's top conservative commentators including Ezra Levant, Ted Byfield and Rick Bell.

Gunter arrives at the Sun at a critical time in Alberta politics. With a challenge from the Wildrose Party and national and international attention turned on our oilsands, the seasoned newsman will have no shortage of fodder.

"Lorne is a great addition to the Edmonton Sun family," said Publisher John Caputo. "He will anchor our political coverage by providing a depth of coverage and an authoritative perspective to political issues."

Gunter will bolster the Sun's Alberta coverage, just in time for the provincial election, too.

"With Rick Bell already with the Sun, having Lorne come over gives us the best one-two punch in western political coverage. Just in time for the most important Alberta election in recent memory," said Sun Media Executive Vice-President of Western Operations, Gordon Norrie.

"It's a pleasure to welcome an established, high-profile journalist like Lorne Gunter to our stable of talented staff. The readers, web users and SUN TV viewers are in for a treat."

The University of Alberta grad will be working out of the Edmonton office, but feeding the province -- and the nation -- a strong dose of Hard News and Straight Talk.