The Empire Club of Canada
Monday, October 4, 2021
The Empire Club of Canada Presents:
Tales from the Campaign Trail – Majority or Bust?
Please watch this virtual discussion that breaks down the Canadian federal election. The event features a panel of political insiders and experts that are on the road with their leader or running the show from the campaign war room.
The panelists share stories from the campaign and provide insights into what just happened.
How did the political leaders, Prime Minister Trudeau, Erin O’Toole and Jagmeet Singh, stack up on critical issues related to pandemic response, economic growth, and climate change?
Were the campaigns able to follow their election plan and stay on message?
This panel looks at the critical moments that impacted the election results and breaks down for our audience what the new political landscape means for Canada going forward.
David Coletto from Abacus Data kicks off the event with a brief polling session.
Presentation:
David Coletto, CEO & Founding Partner, Abacus Data
Moderator:
Marieke Walsh, Political Reporter, The Globe and Mail
Panelists:
Dan Mader, Partner, Loyalist Public Affairs
Jennifer Howard, Chief of Staff to Jagmeet Singh, NDP
Braeden Caley, Senior Director, Communications, Liberal Party of Canada
*The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada.*
*Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.*
Braeden Caley has served as Senior Director, Communications for the Liberal Party of Canada since 2016, and most recently as head of advertising and Deputy Chief Digital Strategist for the party’s 2021 national campaign.
For more than sixteen years, Braeden has advised a variety of progressive political leaders in government and served in leading roles on their campaigns, including serving as Director of Policy and Communications to Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and advising a number of senior federal parliamentarians. In 2013, he was also elected President of the Liberal Party of Canada in British Columbia.
Braeden was born and raised in Richmond, B.C., educated in Political Science at the University of British Columbia, and is now based in Ottawa. In 2016, he was named one of B.C. Business Magazine’s “Top 30 under 30.”
David Coletto is CEO and a founding partner of Abacus Data a full-service market research and strategy firm based in Ottawa. With over a decade of experience in the industry, David and his partners founded Abacus over 8 years ago, and since then it has grown into one of Canada’s most respected market research firms.
David has worked with a range of organizations including the Shaw Communication, the Canadian Bankers Association, the Bank of Canada, Food & Consumer Products Canada, the CBC, the Canadian Pharmacists Association, Equal Voice, and the Dairy Farmers of Canada. He’s also one of Canada’s leading experts on generational change and millennials regularly invited to speak to groups across Canada.
He’s a foodie, a Gentle Explorer, and a political junkie who loves exploring why people think and act they way they do.
He earned a PhD in Political Science from the University of Calgary in 2010 and has a BPAPM and MA from Carleton University. He is also an adjunct professor at Carleton University.
Jennifer Howard was born and raised in Manitoba – and is a proud prairie girl at heart.
A life-long activist, Jennifer has fought on the frontlines of movements for human rights and equality – especially for women, the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities.
She has been involved in the New Democratic Party for 30 years and served two terms as a Member of the Manitoba Legislature, including as the Minister of Finance.
Since 2019 she has been the Chief of Staff to Jagmeet Singh, Leader of Canada’s NDP, and was the Campaign Director for the NDP in 2019 and 2021.
She lives in Ottawa with her wife, Tara and two kids – Harry and Georgia.
Prior to founding Loyalist, Dan served as a Senior Vice President at National Public Relations. He draws on his knowledge of policy, communications, and strategy to help Loyalist Public Affairs clients succeed in an increasingly regulated world where public opinion and the political process are critical.
Dan worked in the federal government, where he led the development of policy in several departments including Environment, Transport, Infrastructure, and the Treasury Board and later served as Chief of Staff to the minister responsible for defence procurement.
Dan served as Deputy Campaign Manager (Policy) on Erin O’Toole’s successful campaign to lead the Conservative Party of Canada. He then served as Director of Policy and Scripting for the 2021 Conservative Party of Canada campaign and led the development of the campaign platform.
During his twenty years of activism for the Ontario PC Party, Dan has served as Deputy Director of Communications for the 2014 general election campaign and as a member of the scripting team on the 2018 campaign.
Dan began his career designing and developing enterprise software, then worked as a management consultant and as an executive at a technology company. Before joining NATIONAL, Dan worked as a Senior Consultant at a Toronto-based public affairs strategy consultancy.
Dan is an active volunteer with the Writer’s Trust of Canada, having recently co-chaired the charity’s Ottawa dinner, Politics and the Pen. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish National Fund of Canada.
Dan has an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a BMath in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo.
Marieke Walsh is a political reporter with The Globe and Mail in Ottawa.
Before joining The Globe, she covered the Ontario legislature for iPolitics and the Nova Scotia legislature for Global News.
She started her journalism career on Parliament Hill producing political TV shows for CBC and Global News.