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
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...
, she is a former advisor to Prime Minister
Stephen Harper and former Principal Secretary to
Doug Ford
Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...
. Once referred to as "the most powerful woman in Ottawa,"
she currently operates her own consulting firm, Jenni Byrne + Associates.
Personal life
Family
Byrne was born to Jerry and Julie Byrne in 1976 in
Fenelon Falls, Ontario
Fenelon Falls is a village in Ontario, Canada, part of the city of Kawartha Lakes. Nicknamed the "Jewel of the Kawarthas," it has a population of 2,500 permanent inhabitants, which swells in the summer due to tourism and holiday cottages. Fenelon ...
.
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
The ''Firearms Act, 1995'', is the law in Canada that regulates firearms possession, means of transportation, and offenses. It was passed after the École Polytechnique massacre.
See also
* Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997
The Firearms (Am ...
, introduced by the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
government of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
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
Michelle Rempel Garner (''née'' Godin; born February 14, 1980) is a Canadian politician who sits in the House of Commons as the member of Parliament (MP) for the Alberta riding of Calgary Nose Hill. A member of the Conservative Party, she was ...
.
Byrne is not married and does not have children. She was previously involved in a romantic relationship with Conservative MP
Pierre Poilievre, whose campaign for leader of the
Conservative Party of Canada she helped to direct.
Education
Byrne was a nursing student at
Georgian College
Georgian College is a College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ontario, Canada. It has 13,000 full-time students, including 4,500 international students from 85 countries, across seven campuses, the largest being in Barrie.
History
The colle ...
, but did not graduate.
She later attended the
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...
, where she organized campus clubs for the
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada (french: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protest ...
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.
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."
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. 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
Michael Douglas Finley (July 25, 1946 – May 11, 2013) was a Canadian Senator and was Campaign Director for the Conservative Party of Canada during the 2006 and 2008 federal elections and the party's director of Political Operations.
Histo ...
to the Senate of Canada.
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
''The Hill Times'' is a Canadian twice-weekly newspaper and daily news website, published in Ottawa, Ontario, which covers the Parliament of Canada, the federal government, and other federal political news. Founded in 1989 by Ross Dickson and Jim ...
'' called "one
fthe most efficient, richest, and iron-disciplined campaign machines in Canadian political history."
[ ]
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.
Shortly before the election, Byrne was reported to have left the Conservative Party's campaign office in Ottawa and returned to Calgary. 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.
Byrne's contract expired after the election.
Ontario provincial politics
Following
Doug Ford
Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...
's
election as leader of the
Ontario PC Party
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...
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.
In January 2019 she left the Premier’s office to accept an appointment to the Ontario energy board. In February 2020 she launche
Jenni Byrne + Associates a government relations firm based in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
.
Media
Byrne is a frequent political commentator on Canadian television networks, most frequently featured on CBC’s
Power and Politics with
Vassy Kapelos
Vassiliki Kapelos (; born May 6, 1981) is a Canadian political journalist, currently serving as the chief political correspondent for CTV News. She formerly was the host of '' Power & Politics'' on CBC News Network from 2018 to 2022. She formerly ...
.
She is a regular member of
David Herle
David Herle is a Canadian political consultant and Principal Partner at leading polling and research firm, The Gandalf Group. He is also a regular CBC commentator.
David Herle received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Regina and was c ...
’s podcast
The Herle Burly
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Jenni
Office of the Prime Minister (Canada)
Canadian campaign managers
Living people
University of Ottawa alumni
1977 births