This etalk host is a red carpet institution unto himself, and he took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with CTV.ca about how the JUNOs red carpet stacks up.

Ben Mulroney, along with the usual gang of suspects, will be live from Toronto this weekend for the “etalk at the JUNOs” live red carpet special, airing Sunday, March 27 on CTV.

The last high-profile gig that CTV watchers would have seen Mulroney at would have been on the red carpet for the Academy Awards. According to the etalk host, it was a highly stressful experience, unlike his typical experience on the JUNO red carpet.

“That’s not to say it’s less important,” stresses Mulroney.

“We control this carpet, it’s our carpet. We produce it as a show, we can walk the length of it, I know who I’m talking to and when I’m talking to them, and I know there’s always Tanya or Lainey I can throw to if I have a problem,” says the host.

“It’s not like the red carpet at the Oscars where you have no point where you know who you are talking to. You don’t know who is coming up next, and how long you’re going to have them for. You don’t know if they recognize you. That’s not the case on these carpets, 90 per cent of the stars I’ve actually had long conversations with in the past. That helps. That makes it less pressure… but more fun.”

During the JUNOs red carpet event, fans can Tweet at Lainey Lui via @etalkctv who will pass them on to music superstars as they pass by.

The “etalk at the JUNOs” red carpet special will also be shown online live at CTV.ca, where we’ll be hosting a live chat with a huge list of special guests (click here for the rundown)

And because this is Canada, and from where I sit at our office in Toronto I currently see what must be at least a dozen feet of snow on the ground, which likely means we can expect a different kind of fashion than what you’d usually see in Los Angeles.

When I bring up the so-called “Canadian Tuxedo” with Mulroney (denim on denim), he knows exactly what I’m talking about.

“Not a lot of tuxedos on this red carpet. I’ve asked people what they’re wearing and they say Value Village or Giant Tiger, its par for the course on the JUNO red carpet,” says Mulroney.

“It is a party, it’s relaxed and it’s fun.”

However, Mulroney will not “pillage the village” for his own duds, he’s planning on wearing a Strellson suit he picked up from “Got Style.”

Aside from his etalk gig, Mulroney keeps a typically low-profile these days after his wife Jessica gave birth to twins Brian Gerald Alexander and John Benedict Dimitri.

“They’re good boys, and they’re on the same schedule, which keeps me happy,” says Mulroney.

When I note that ever since the birth of his boys he has been bringing them up more and more in his high-profile interviews (like Celine Dion, natch), Mulroney isn’t coy about why he does that.

“I’m not a journalist, I didn’t go to school for it, and I find that when I interview people it’s more of a conversation, and if they’re open and want to talk about their personal life, you’ve got to be willing to talk about your own. If you have a common point of interest with someone, there’s nothing wrong with bringing it up,” says Mulroney.

I’m betting we’ll be hearing about those boys on Sunday.

The “etalk at the JUNOs” live red carpet special airs Sunday, March 27, with a half-hour broadcast on CTV Ontario and Montreal (6:30 p.m. ET), CTV Alberta (6:30 p.m. MT), and CTV Atlantic (7:30 p.m. AT). An hour-long broadcast of “etalk at the JUNOs” will air on CTV BC (6 p.m. PT), CTV Winnipeg and Saskatchewan (6 p.m. CT) and CP24 (6:30 p.m. ET), as well as on E! (7 p.m. ET), /A\ Atlantic (8 p.m. AT).

Mulroney will be joined by Tanya Kim, with etalk reporter Lainey Lui and MTV News Host Aliya-Jasmine Sovani.

Additionally, MuchMusic host Lauren Toyota, along with co-hosts Damian Abraham, Phoebe Dykstra and Tyrone Edwards, check-in live on “Much on the Carpet,” airing at 7 p.m. ET on Much.

About Tyrone

Tyrone Warner has been with CTV.ca since 2005, covering news, entertainment and everything related to CTV. When he’s away from the computer, you can find him writing, recording and performing his own music, running his own record label and dabbling in photography, painting and creative collage. Follow him on Twitter!