Peter Donolo (born October 1959) is a Canadian communications and

political strategist Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tel ...

. From 1993 to 1999, he was the Director of Communications in the office 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 - the longest tenure of any prime ministerial communications director in Canadian history.. He previously served as communications advisor to Toronto

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Art Eggleton Arthur C. Eggleton (born September 29, 1943) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 59th and longest-serving mayor of Toronto from 1980 to 1991. He was elected to Parliament in 1993, running as a Liberal in York Centre and served a ...

(1989-91) and as Director of Communications in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition under Chrétien from 1991 to 1993. Donolo was in charge of communications for the Liberals’ successful 1993 election campaign, a role he repeated in their re-election in 1997. From 1999 to 2001, he served as Canada's

consul general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

. In 2001, he served as Senior

Vice-President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

of Public Affairs at

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled an ...

. Donolo is a well-known republican who has commented publicly about ending the

monarchy of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the fou ...

. In a comment in the October 21, 2002, cover story of ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...

'', he referred to Canada as "behaving like a colonial outpost", and claiming the Queen of Canada is a foreigner. From 2002 to 2009, Donolo was executive vice president and partner at The Strategic Counsel, a Toronto-based

public opinion Public opinion is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to a society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. Etymology The term "public opinion" was derived from the French ', which was first use ...

research and communications consulting firm. From 2009 to 2011, Donolo was Chief of Staff to former Liberal Party of Canada leader

Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff (; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a histo ...

. From 2012 to 2013, Donolo served as Senior Vice President, Public Affairs of the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak al ...

, held in Toronto. From 2014 to 2016, he was Special Advisor for Communications and Intergovernmental Affairs to the Government of the Province of Ontario, operating in the central Cabinet Office of the provincial government. From 2016 to 2022, Donolo served as Vice Chair of Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada. In 2003, Donolo co-chaired the successful Toronto mayoral campaign of David Miller. He has remained politically active as a senior advisor in recent elections, in debate preparation for

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

in the 2015 federal campaign, and running communications for Premier

Kathleen Wynne Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...

's successful 2014 Ontario campaign. Donolo is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) and is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of CIVIX. He is apast director of Pathways to Education Canada, G(irls) 20, the Canadian Journalism Foundation, the Toronto Board of Trade and the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario.

Personal life

He is married to Mary Cruden and they have three children; Annie, Maggie and Michael.

References

1959 births Living people Canadian diplomats Canadian republicans Place of birth missing (living people) Communications directors of the Canadian Prime Minister's Office {{Canada-gov-bio-stub