[2] Swain worked at CBC News, Canada’s public broadcaster, for over 33 years before deciding to leave[3] in December, 2023 to start her own business.

[4] In her first season in that role, the program won the Canadian Screen Award for Best News or Information Series.

Her parents separated when she was young and she moved with her mother and younger sister to Chilliwack, British Columbia where she graduated from high school in 1983.

Swain first entered Winnipeg television as co-anchor of the evening newscast on independent station CKND in 1988.

Initially, Swain commuted to Toronto from Winnipeg while working on Disclosure, but in 2003, she and her family moved to Oakville, Ontario.

[9] Since then, she frequently substituted for Peter Mansbridge as anchor of CBC's flagship news show, The National.

Swain reprised the role with sports host David Amber in Sochi, Russia in 2014.

[12] Swain was given the alumni of the year award from her alma mater BCIT in 2006, recognizing her achievements in the news industry.

[13] In 2017, she received an honorary doctorate in technology from BCIT, and gave the convocation speech 30 years after her own graduation from the school's journalism program.