Canadian Family has announced the appointment of Brandie Weikle as its new editor-in-chief. Weikle previously served as managing editor for Canadian Family from 2005 to 2007 before joining the Toronto Star.

“It feels like coming home,” Weikle told Masthead. “I loved being a part of Canadian Family in 2005 and I’m thrilled to return as E-I-C (editor-in-chief). There is a super talented team of people in place and I’m looking forward to working with colleagues old and new.”

Weikle has worked with several other Canadian parenting and family magazines including: Today’s Parent as senior associate editor; the Toronto Star, where she launched two vertical websites, parentcentral.ca and healthzone.ca; and as digital director for House and Home. She officialy starts at Canadian Family on June 10, 2013.

“Parenting is my favourite subject matter. I first began working in this area three years before having children of my own because issues like education or child health were important to me even then. So I’m passionate about helping parents navigate the crazy waters of child-rearing.”

Weikle said readers of Canadian Family can expect to see more candid stories in the magazine that reflect their reality as parents. Also, there will be something for all members of the family, as opposed to a single focus on the parent-child dynamic.

“The challenge facing parenting magazines is the impression that perhaps after you’ve had your second child, maybe you’ve outgrown a parenting magazine,” Weikle explained.

But she intends to meet this challenge by including articles on issues spouses, co-parents, children and grandparents face. It is a magazine for the ‘Canadian family’ after all, she said.

“I want to make a magazine that not only looks great, but that gets to the heart of the social, economic and emotional experiences of being a parent in our time. And I want to do that with smarts, honesty and humour and a more diverse representation of what families look like today.”