HILL WHO'S WHO
Keep coming back to hear about all the latest moves on Parliament Hill.
PMO Appointments Appointment
Anthony Near, 26, has joined PMO appointments where he reports to Renze Nauta, the unit's manager. He served in the Canadian Forces and attended the University of New Brunswick. He previously...
Welford leaves as Goodyear's Chief of Staff
Phil Welford is leaving his post as Chief of Staff to Minister Gary Goodyear. The full text of his email appears below. ======== Dear friends, It is with sadness that I am writing to inform you...
Rebecca Thompson is leaving Parliament Hill
Thompson is currently the director of communications to Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose. She is leaving politics for the private sector. The London, Ontario-native has worked in politics for about...
LeBreton's office switches
Longtime aide of Government Leader in the Senate, Majorie LeBreton, George Waldo Rae is leaving to take a job in Minister Toews' policy shop. Moving into LeBreton's office is Amy Lee Leindecker,...
Davis is Shea's new Press Sec
Kate Davis has joined the office of Fisheries Minister Gail Shea. She will be the press secretary. In the past she has worked in the PMO and for Edmonton East Conservative MP Peter Goldring. Also...
Kennedy's Potty Mouth
Tuesday's Hill Times story on Guy Giorno being appointed the new Conservative Campaign Chair included a quote from Liberal MP Gerrard Kennedy. A Hill Who's Who reader heard Mr. Kennedy deliver that...
Manning preparing bid to be Premier of Alberta
Since Ed Stelmach announced he wouldn't be running again on January 25th, there has been a lot of speculation about who will run. Ted Morton, the Finance Minister, has resigned from that office in...
Stelmach Resignation predicted on Twitter
While Ed Stelmach's resignation today caught the political and media establishment in Alberta by surprise, it was predicted on social media last week. Twitter user Kathryn Marshall, @KVMarshall,...
Meredith Moves: McDonald leaves Ottawa, Taylor joins PMO
Long time Conservative staffer Meredith McDonald is leaving Ottawa to return to her native Alberta. She joined Harper's OLO in 2002 and worked for several years in PMO as a speechwriter. Meredith...
Nejatian returns to Kenney's Office
Way back in Canadian Alliance days in the summer of 2001 a 19 year old Kasra Nejatian was an intern in the office of Jason Kenney MP. Nejatian had got some attention a few months earlier, when during...
Kent gets a new Chief of Staff
With Peter Kent's elevation to the Environment ministry he gets a new Chief of Staff. Stephanie Machel, an Ottawa native and long-time conservative activist, and former Chief to Bev Oda. Darren...
Igneski and Akers leave PMO
Jasmine Igneski, the director of Priorities and Planning in the PMO, is leaving her position. She is returning to her home town of Hamilton. Igneski has been a top Conservative staffer since her role...
Staffer to run in Calgary Centre-North?
Jim Prentice's departure from Cabinet and soon from the commons is having ripple effects. Scott Wenger, who has served as the regional director of Prentice's Minister's Regional Office in Calgary has...
Staff moves in Day's office
Word reaches us that Chris Woodcock is leaving Stockwell Day's office where he has been director of Parliamentary Affairs. Woodcock worked for Day at Public Safety, International Trade, and Treasury...
Comms shake-up in Oda's office
There seems to be a flurry of exits from the communications department at Minister Bev Oda's office. Both Press Secretary Jessica Fletcher and Director of Communications Isabelle Bouchard have left. ...
Iggy claims Genco brought Pope and Stones together
CanadaNewsDesk.com EXCLUSIVE! Have a look at the YouTube video below. That's Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff claiming that his candidate in the Vaughan by-election brought Pope John Paul II and the...
Who is Bevilacqua backing?
So just who is Mauritzio Bevilacqua voting for the in the Vaughan federal by-election he caused? When Mauritzio Bevilacqua resigned as Liberal MP for Vaughan after more than 20 years to run for...
The Strahl Shuffle
A little bird told us that Jacques Fauteux, Minister Chuck Strahl's Director of Policy and Communications for the Quebec region is moving on. He is leaving government for the greener pastures of Hill...
The case of vanishing Liberal candidate
It appears that Kitchener-Conestoga Federal Liberal nominated candidate Teresa Huegle has withdrawn her name to stand in the next election. She has removed any reference to her candidacy on her...
James Moore for BC Premier
Someone in BC is running facebook ads urging people to help draft federal Heritage minister James Moore to run for the leadership of the BC Liberals left open by Gordon Campbell. The ads are in...
Suspended Senator spends $700k+ of Taxpayer's Money
Since Senator Raymond Lavigne was suspended from the Senate he has managed to spend over $700,000 of taxpayer's money. An analysis of the Suspended Liberal Senator's spending from the Public...
DONATION WATCH - Chiefs of Staff - Part 4.
Another instalment of the donations of Chiefs of Staff to Federal Ministers, to the Conservative Party. These are for the most recent reported 12 month period - that is from July 1, 2009 to June...
Ignatieff the Rapper
Move over Drake. There’s a new rapper in the T Dot and he comes from serious Russian bling. Canada News Desk’s Web Crawler has discovered that Theo Ignatieff, the little-known son of Liberal...
DONATION WATCH - Chiefs of Staff - Part 3
More Chiefs of Staff to Federal Ministers, more donations to the Conservative Party or lack thereof. As always these are for the most recent reported 12 month period - that is from July 1, 2009 to...
Ottawa Municipal Candidates Round-up
Besides Jim Watson, likely to elected as Mayor of Ottawa today, there are many municipal candidates in the Ottawa area who have connections to other levels of government and party politics. *Rod...
PMO Spy on Fantino's Campaign
Looks like Stephen Lecce is the designated PMO point person on the Fantino campaign. He is taking a leave of absence from PMO from today until December first. His only point of contact - his new...
Moving up in Stock's Office
As we reported over the weekend Melisa Leclerc has left Stockwell Day's office for the green pastures of PMO, as deputy director of communications. Today comes the news that two British Columbians...
DONATION WATCH - The OLO - Part 1
After looking at some of the Chiefs of Staff of various minister in the Harper government, we have decided to turn our eye on the opposition. So here are the donation records of some prominent...
From PMO to Alward's Premier's Office
Yvon Long who does Senior Media Advance in PMO Tour is heading home to New Brunswick. A little birdie told us that Long is tipped to be become deputy Chief of Staff to newly elected New Brunswick...
DONATION WATCH - Chiefs of Staff - Part 2
More donation records from five more Chiefs of Staff to federal Cabinet Ministers to the Conservative Party of Canada. These are for the most recent publicly available donations - that is from July...
New PMO Deputy Director of Communications
Dr. Mélisa Leclerc is said to be joining PMO Communications as deputy director of Communications. She previously worked for Minister Day at Public Safety, International Trade, and Treasury Board as...
DONATION WATCH - Chiefs of Staff - Part 1
Chiefs of Staff to Federal Ministers of the Crown make a lot of money - some where in the range of $150,000 a year. But do they give back? And by give back we mean donate to the political party on...
PMO seeking regional experts
With the promotion within the PMO of Brock Stephenson to Deputy Director of Issues Management two positions have opened up on the regional affairs team. Stephenson was doing double duty covering BC...
The Next MP for Prince George-Peace River
Barring a massive upset the Conservatives will hold Prince George-Peace River after long-time MP Jay Hill retires on October 25th. So who will replace him? There are three candidates running for the...
Veterans Affairs staffer on to new challenges
It is rumoured that Codie Taylor, director of parliamentary affairs, to Veterans Affairs minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn is expected to be leaving that role shortly. She worked for Greg Thompson as...
Wildrose poaches Hill staffer
Alberta's upstart Wildrose Alliance has poached a Conservative organizer and staffer from the office of Minister Diane Finley. William McBeath, former CPC regional organizer for Alberta and more...
Iggy's favourite Fundraiser
Meet Dr. Gulzar Cheema, a former MLA in both Manitoba and BC, and Liberal fundraiser extraordinaire. He was the person organizing the cancelled Justin Trudeau fundraiser in Surrey we mentioned a...
Who wants to be Nigel's EA?
The PMO is seeking a new Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff. ========= Job Opportunity, Office of the Chief of Staff and Principal Secretary Please feel free to share this posting with...
Staffers in the Legislature - NB MLAs have roots on the hill
Three former Hill staffers and one National Councillor of the Conservative Party were elected as PC MLAs in New Brunswick on Monday night. They are: Wes McLean in Victoria-Tobique: Ran the Atlantic...
Trudeau and Dhaliwal cancel Dinner: back to Ottawa early
This was just sent out to supporters of Sukh Dhaliwal the Liberal MP for Newton-North Delta. It seems the Liberals are pouring back into Ottawa for Wednesday's big votes. Who else is coming back...
Igneski to be Kenney's new Chief
Jasmine Igneski is leaving PMO to become the interim Chief of Staff to Jason Kenney at Citizenship and Immigration effective Monday. She leaves the position as Director, Priorities and Planning in...
New PMO Chief of Staff on Monday
Word from the belly of the beast, that is 309-S in Centre Block - the heart of the PMO - is that the new Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Harper will be announced to Staff at around 9.30 on Monday...
Nigel Wright new Chief of Staff to the PM
Nigel Wright will become Prime Minister Stephen Harper's third Chief of Staff. This fits a pattern of Harper appointing 40-something right-wing Ontarians to the position (Brodie, Giorno and now...
Not the Usual Suspects: Harper to reach outside of politics for new Chief of Staff
A couple of sources have tipped off Canada NewsDesk that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is planning to reach outside of the political insider class for his next Chief of Staff. With Guy Giorno...
Bernier raises money out west
Former cabinet minister and new darling of the fiscal conservative right, Maxime Bernier, is straying far from his usual stomping grounds to raise some money for his Beauce riding association. On...
Quinlan to PMO
The PMO shuffle continues with veteran Quebec staffer Mark Quinlan moving in on Monday as the new Director of Issues Management. This was the position recently vacated by William Stairs. Quinlan has...
Chief of Staff Sweepstakes
Who will replace Guy Giorno as the PM's Chief of Staff? That is the question on everyone's lips in official Ottawa. Former PMO senior advisor Bruce Carson was mooted and debunked and then rehashed....
PMO shuffle
Word on the street (Wellington Street) is that Director of Issues Management at the PMO, William Stairs, is leaving that position to become some sort of a special advisor. Stairs, Ottawa watchers...
Baird puts the band back together
With the departure of long-time Chief of Staff Chris Froggatt (who moved to National PR in June), Government House Leader John Baird is reaching into the past to restock his team. First, former...
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