Telford tops 19th annual Terrific 25 Staffer list, NDP’s Salloum voted Best All-Round
Katie Telford is closing on in seven years as chief of staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—and with it, closing in on the record for the longest-serving person in such a role—and she’s once again been voted to the top of The Hill Times’ Terrific 25 Staffers list after placing second last year. The PM’s […]
Catching up with former Hill staffers
Cue the Vitamin C, it’s time to catch up with some former Hill staffers to see where they’ve gone post-politics—starting with Tausha Michaud, former chief of staff to then-Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, who returned to McMillan Vantage Policy Group as vice-president in early July. Michaud was a director with McMillan Vantage before leaving to serve […]
String of staff additions, one departure for Agriculture Minister Bibeau
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has added a number of staff to her team since Hill Climbers last checked in at the start of the year, including Olivia Scieur-Aparicio, who started as the minister’s new operations and tour manager in June. Scieur-Aparicio spent the last almost two years as an assistant to Quebec Liberal MP Élisabeth […]
Staff shuffle in Natural Resources Minister Wilkinson’s office
There’s been some shuffling of the deck in the office of Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, with a number of staff taking on new roles, including James Hutchingame, who’s now covering Atlantic regional affairs. Hutchingame was previously covering the Ontario desk for Wilkinson while also serving as assistant to the minister’s parliamentary secretary—a role he […]
Hill Climbers: PMO lands a new public opinion research head
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has found a new manager of research for his office, with former Earnscliffe consultant Hilary Martin recently taking on the role. Martin spent the last almost six years working for the Earnscliffe Strategy Group in Ottawa, starting as a public opinion research associate in the fall of 2016. She was promoted […]
Labour Minister O’Regan hires a new operations head
Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan has found a new director of operations for his office, with Sarah Magee having marked her first day on the job on June 27. For the past (almost) year and a half, Magee was campaign director for Bigger Than Our Borders, a public, government, and stakeholder relations firm based in Ottawa […]
An ode to the political researchers, the grit grinders, the muckrakers
After every election, there is no shortage of panels and interviews that feature the successful (and unsuccessful) brilliant minds behind political campaigns. This was, of course, the case following Doug Ford’s successful re-election campaign in Ontario last month. Political junkies got the skinny from the campaign managers, the strategic advisers, and the spokespeople. But this […]
Policy adviser among new hires for International Development Minister Sajjan
International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan has made a few changes to his team since Hill Climbers’ last rundown, including hiring Laura Gamez as a policy adviser at the end of May. Sajjan is responsible for both the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada and international development, with Gamez focused on the latter portfolio. Gamez previously […]
Ch-ch-changes in the PMO, including new correspondence, appointments aides
The only constant is change, and there are more changes to report in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office, including the recent addition of Lola Dandybaeva as a special assistant for public appointments. Dandybaeva was hired to the top office in May after a little more than half a year as an aide to Ontario Liberal […]
Breaking down Defence Minister Anand’s 21-member team
Hill Climbers is overdue for a full dive into Defence Minister Anita Anand’s now 21-member ministerial office, where Jonathan Salna is the most recent addition as executive assistant to the minister’s chief of staff, Mike Power. Salna joined Anand’s team in April after a year as a legislative assistant to Ontario Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski. […]
