Katie Telford

Katie Telford (born 1978) is a Canadian political strategist who is the current Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.[1][2] She served as Trudeau's chief campaign advisor during his successful campaign in the 2015 election.[3][4] Following the resignation of Gerald Butts, Telford has now been acknowledged as holding the highest ranking position within the Prime Minister's Office.[5]

Katie Telford
15th Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister
Assumed office
November 4, 2015
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byRay Novak
Personal details
Born1978 (age 42–43)
Political partyLiberal
Other political
affiliations		Liberal (provincial)
Spouse(s)Rob Silver
Children1
Alma materUniversity of Ottawa

Early life and education

Telford, born in 1978, was raised in Toronto. Her parents were public servants; her father was Australian and her mother was from Hamilton, Ontario.[6]

When Telford was 12, she worked as a page for several weeks in the Ontario legislature. She studied political science at the University of Ottawa, where she joined the debate club and ultimately became the club's President. The team was a two time national semi-finalist and finished high at the world championship event in Glasgow, Scotland.[6]

Career

From 2004 to 2006, Telford was chief of staff to Ontario Education Minister Gerard Kennedy and headed his campaign in the 2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election.[4] She later served as deputy chief of staff for Liberal leader Stéphane Dion, and worked as a consultant for StrategyCorp in Toronto between her positions with Dion and Trudeau.[4]

On September 21, 2016, it was reported by The Globe and Mail that Telford had charged moving expenses to Canadian taxpayers in the amount of $80,382.55 to relocate her residence from Toronto to Ottawa.[7] These expenses included a personalized cash payout of $23,373.71.[8] After it was revealed publicly, Telford agreed to repay a portion of the $80,382.55.[9]

Personal life

Telford is married to Rob Silver, a consultant for a public affairs agency and former regular Power & Politics panelist. They have one son.[10][4]

References
  1. "Cabinet 2015". ipolitics.ca. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  2. "Des femmes nommées à de gros portefeuilles" (in French). Métro. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  3. Radwanski, Adam (October 27, 2015). "Trudeau expected to name Katie Telford chief of staff". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  4. Delacourt, Susan (September 22, 2015). "The architect of a Liberal campaign shakeup". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  5. Tasker, John Paul (February 18, 2019). "Gerald Butts resigns as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's principal secretary". CBC News. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  6. "Katie Telford: 'Hard-working, tough, honest and wicked smart'". The Ottawa Citizen. February 13, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  7. Stone, Laura (September 21, 2016). "Top Trudeau aides Butts, Telford expensed over $200,000 for moving homes". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on June 7, 2017.
  8. Zimonjic, Peter (September 22, 2016). "Senior PMO staffers Gerald Butts and Katie Telford to return $65K in 'unreasonable' moving expenses". CBC News. Archived from the original on June 7, 2017.
  9. Stone, Laura (September 22, 2016). "Trudeau aides Butts and Telford to repay portion of moving expenses". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on June 7, 2017.
  10. "Rob Silver says farewell". CBC News. November 5, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
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