Robert Batherson is a Canadian politician and public affairs executive currently serving as president of the Conservative Party of Canada. Before becoming national president, Batherson was a two-term National Councillor from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Personal life

Batherson was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia. He moved to Riverview,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

and then later to Lower Sackville,

. He was educated at

Sackville High School Sackville High School is a Canadian public high school located in Lower Sackville, a suburban community of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is operated by the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE). Sackville Hig ...

. Batherson earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Public Relations at

Mount Saint Vincent University Mount Saint Vincent University, often referred to as the Mount, is a public, primarily undergraduate, university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was established in 1873. Mount Saint Vincent offers undergraduate programs in Arts, S ...

in 1997. He has worked as a marketing executive in various sectors as well as a staffer on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

prior to his current role. Batherson is married and has one son. He is proficient in French and he is the first Conservative Party of Canada President from Atlantic Canada.

Politics

Batherson began working in communications and research for the

Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia The Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia (formerly Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia), is a moderate political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. Like most conservative parties in Atlantic Canada, it has been historically as ...

Caucus Office and later worked as a political staffer for

Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and has served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2013–2015), Minister of National Defence (2007� ...

. In the 1998 Nova Scotia general election, Batherson ran as a Progressive Conservative party candidate in the riding of

Sackville-Cobequid Sackville—Cobequid is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. The riding was created in 1978 when the former district of Halifax Cobequid was redistributed. In 1993 ...

. Following the

1999 Nova Scotia general election The 1999 Nova Scotia general election was held on July 27, 1999, to elect members of the 58th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The government was defeated on a money bill on June 18, and the Nova Scotia House of Assembly ...

he worked as Premier

John Hamm John Frederick Hamm (born April 8, 1938) is a Canadian physician and politician, who served as the 25th premier of Nova Scotia from 1999 to 2006. Education Hamm, a graduate of the University of King's College and Dalhousie University, was a fa ...

's Press Secretary and later as his Communications Director. Batherson served in the role of President of the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia between 2009 and 2012. Batherson then ran again in

2017 Nova Scotia general election The 2017 Nova Scotia general election was held on May 30, 2017, to elect members to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. The Liberals under Premier Stephen McNeil won re-election with a somewhat reduced majority, falling from 34 seats at dissoluti ...

in the riding of

Halifax Citadel-Sable Island Halifax Citadel-Sable Island is a provincial electoral district in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Its current Member of the Legislative Assembly is Lisa Lachance of the Nova Scotia N ...

. In 2016, Batherson was first elected to the Conservative Party of Canada's National Council as a councillor from Nova Scotia. In March 2021, he was elected as the president of the Conservative Party of Canada, taking over from

Scott Lamb DeathBoy is the pseudonym of Midlands-born musician Scott Lamb, and also the name of his band. History Scott Lamb Lamb started making music at the age of thirteen, creating music in the breakbeat and rave genres using OctaMED on the Amiga. ...

Professional career

Batherson works as a communications and public affairs advisor. He has served as the chair of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce and the Neptune Theatre Foundation. Batherson has also served as a member of the Halifax Stanfield International Airport's board of directors.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batherson, Robert 1975 births Living people Candidates in Nova Scotia provincial elections Conservative Party of Canada politicians People from Sydney, Nova Scotia Mount Saint Vincent University alumni