Jenni Byrne

Jenni Byrne is a political advisor, political commenter, and government relations expert. A member of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, she is a former advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and former Principal Secretary to Doug Ford.[1] Once referred to as "the most powerful woman in Ottawa,"[2] she currently operates her own consulting firm, Jenni Byrne + Associates.

Jenni Byrne
Co-Deputy Chief of Staff, Prime Minister's Office
In office
August 2013 – November 4, 2015
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byRay Novak
Succeeded byKatie Telford
Director of Political Operations, Conservative Party of Canada
In office
2009 – August 2013
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byDoug Finley
Succeeded byFred DeLorey
Personal details
Born1977 (age 43–44)
Fenelon Falls, Ontario
Political partyConservative Party of Canada
ResidenceOttawa, Ontario
ProfessionPolitical Advisor

Personal life

Family

Byrne was born to Jerry and Julie Byrne in 1976 in Fenelon Falls, Ontario.[3] Her mother was a teacher, who died in 2010 at the age of 58. Her father is a carpenter who joined the Reform Party in the 1990s to protest the long-gun registry enacted as part of the Firearms Act, 1995, introduced by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Her sister, Jerra Kosick (nee Byrne), is also involved with the Conservative Party of Canada, most recently serving as the chief of staff to Minister Michelle Rempel.

Byrne is not married and does not have children.

Education

Byrne was a nursing student at Georgian College, but did not graduate.[3] She later attended the University of Ottawa, where she organized campus clubs for the Reform Party of Canada and did not graduate.

Political career

Byrne became involved in politics at age 16, when she joined the Reform Party. Byrne's father, Jerry, had joined the same party to protest the Liberals' long-gun registry.[3] She eventually became the President of the student Reform Party Club at the University of Ottawa. In a media interview, Byrne cited her concerns over debt reduction and tax cuts and how they were more important to her generation than to her parents' generation: "It's great for them to say don’t cut here or there, but they won't be the ones affected by (the debt). They’re in their late 40s and they will probably still benefit from government programs. But Canada looks like a bleak place for me by the time I'm their age."[4]

Byrne has been called Prime Minister Harper's "single best political organizer", a dedicated Harper loyalist who believed in the party during its darkest days.[5] She is also known for her tenacity and possesses "a single-minded unwillingness to put up with people screwing around."

Conservative Party

In 2009, she became the Director of Political Operations for the Conservative Party of Canada following the appointment of Doug Finley to the Senate of Canada.[6]

Byrne was the deputy national campaign manager in the 2006, 2008, and 2011 federal elections, serving under Doug Finley. Between elections, Byrne served in several roles in the Prime Minister's Office, including advisor to Chief of Staff Ian Brodie and Director of Issues Management, and at the headquarters of the Conservative Party of Canada.

In the 2011 campaign she was promoted to national campaign manager due to the ill health of Doug Finley. She served as campaign manager of the machine designed and largely still run by Finley, taking the pressure off him to allow his pursuit of cancer treatment. Byrne's responsibilities were overseeing the day-to-day operations of Finley’s campaign, what The Hill Times called "one the most efficient, richest, and iron-disciplined campaign machines in Canadian political history."[7]

Return to Prime Minister's Office

In August 2013, Byrne left her job as the Conservative Director of Political Operations and returned to the Prime Minister's Office as co-Deputy Chief of Staff.

Campaign manager for 2015 election

In October 2014 the Conservative Party announced that Byrne would lead the campaign in the 42nd Canadian federal election.[4] Shortly before the election, Byrne was reported to have left the Conservative Party's campaign office in Ottawa and returned to Calgary.[8] The Conservative government lost power to the Liberals, who won a majority of the seats. After the election, a number of Conservatives blamed Byrne for her role in the party's defeat and criticized her management style.[9][10][11] Byrne's contract expired after the election.[11][12]

Ontario Provincial Politics

Following Doug Ford's election as leader of the Ontario PC Party in March 2018, Byrne took over as Director of Field Operations for the 2018 Provincial Election. After the election, Byrne was selected to be Ford's first Principal Secretary.[13] In January 2019 she left the Premier’s office to accept an appointment to the Ontario energy board.[14] In February 2020 she launched Jenni Byrne + Associates, a government relations firm based in Toronto. [15]

Media

Byrne is a frequent political commentator on Canadian television networks, most frequently featured on CBC’s Power and Politics with Vassy Kapelos. She is a regular member of David Herle’s podcast, The Herle Burly.

References
  1. "Jenni Byrne tapped to be Ford's principal secretary, premier's office takes shape - iPolitics". iPolitics. 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  2. Taber, Jane (4 February 2011), Young Harper aide shatters glass ceiling to run election campaign, The Globe and Mail, retrieved 31 May 2012
  3. Radwanski, Adam (29 May 2015). "Harper's enforcer: Meet Jenni Byrne, the most powerful woman in Ottawa". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  4. Kennedy, Mark (20 October 2015). "Senior PMO staffer Jenni Byrne to lead Tories' 2015 election campaign". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  5. Wherry, Aaron (4 April 2011). "Jenni Byrne: the (other) woman behind Harper". Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  6. Wherry, Aaron (4 April 2011). "Jenni Byrne: the (other) woman behind Harper". Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  7. (subscription required) Naumetz, Tim (2 March 2011), Prime Minister Harper’s new campaign manager Byrne ‘respected and feared’ among federal Tories, The Hill Times, retrieved 31 May 2012
  8. "Jenni Byrne tossed from Stephen Harper's inner circle". CBC News. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  9. "Who's to blame for the great Tory implosion? Campaign manager Jenni Byrne booted from inner circle". National Post. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  10. "Conservatives openly criticize party's election performance". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  11. "Byrne as a wedge in Conservative leadership?". Canoe. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  12. Barton, Rosemary (December 3, 2019). "Why Scheer's defenders are pointing to the 2004 election now — and why the argument doesn't hold up". CBC News.
  13. "Jenni Byrne tapped to be Ford's principal secretary, premier's office takes shape - iPolitics". iPolitics. 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  14. Benzie, Robert (11 January 2019). "Premier Doug Ford losing his most experienced political aide". Toronto Star. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  15. "Jenni Byrne". Linkedin. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
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