The Director of Communications in the Prime Minister's Office (French: Directeur de la Communication au Cabinet du Premier Ministre) is one of the most senior roles in the Canadian Prime Minister's Office, reporting directly to the prime minister and his or her chief of staff. The person is responsible for selling the government's agenda to the media and public.
Duties
editThe portfolio thus encompasses everything from speech writing, communications packages, coordinating announcements, creating media appearances for the Prime Minister, crafting communications responses, liaising with the media, coordinating with ministers' and Members of Parliament's offices, and responding to government controversies.
The position's grueling hours are close only to the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff and Director of Policy.[1]
Since 2006 only half of the directors have lasted more than one year, with the average in the position being just 395 days, or roughly 13 months. The longest serving director is Kate Purchase, who served as Justin Trudeau’s first communications director from October 2015 to December 2019. The shortest duration was just 32 days with William Stairs, who left shortly after Prime Minister Stephen Harper was elected with a minority government.
Previous Directors of Communications
edit| Name | Prime Minister | Dates Served | Reason for Leaving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Donolo | Jean Chrétien | 1993–1999 | Resigned |
| Françoise Ducros | 1999–2002 | Resigned following controversy | |
| Jim Munson | 2002–2003 | Appointed to the Senate of Canada | |
| Mario Laguë | Paul Martin | 2003–2005 | Appointed to a diplomatic position |
| Scott Reid | 2005–2006 | Party defeated in 2006 election | |
| William J. Stairs | Stephen Harper | January – February 2006 | Unknown |
| Sandra Buckler | February 2006 – June 27, 2008 | Cancer treatment | |
| Kory Teneycke | July 7, 2008 – July 28, 2009 | Job with Sun News Network | |
| John Williamson | August 2009 – March 2010[2] | To run for Parliament | |
| Dimitri Soudas | March 2010 – September 5, 2011[3] | Hired by the Canadian Olympic Committee | |
| Angelo Persichilli | October 2011 – April 2012[4] | Job stress | |
| Andrew MacDougall | April 2012 – September 2, 2013[5] | Job in London, England | |
| Jason MacDonald | September 12, 2013 – February 13, 2015[6] | Unknown | |
| Rob Nicol | February 14, 2015[6] – October 18, 2015 | party defeated in 2015 election | |
| Kate Purchase | Justin Trudeau | October 2015 – December 2019[7] | Job with Microsoft |
| Cameron Ahmad | Justin Trudeau | January 2020 – June 2023[8] | Unknown |
| Vanessa Hage-Moussa | June 2023 – current[9] | Incumbent |
References
edit- ^ "A (sort of) day in the life of Stephen Harper's director of communications". CBC News, February 18, 2015.
- ^ "PM to name taxpayers crusader to media role - Canada - CBC News". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
- ^ "Harper's spokesman Soudas moving on - Politics - CBC News". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
- ^ "Harper's 6th communications director resigns - Politics - CBC News". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
- ^ "Harper spokesman Andrew MacDougall leaving PMO - Politics - CBC News". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
- ^ a b "Jason MacDonald leaving Prime Minister's Office 7 months before election". CBC News, February 13, 2015
- ^ Wherry, Aaron (Dec 17, 2019). "Trudeau's communications chief Kate Purchase leaving PM's office". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2019-12-17.
- ^ Wherry, Aaron (May 2, 2023). "Trudeau's director of communications is leaving the PMO". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- ^ https://globalnews.ca/news/10115212/pmo-new-communications-staff-polls/