Hill Climbers
A number of Trudeau-era cabinet staff bidding Hill farewell
There have been more announcements of staff who have decided to bid the Hill farewell than of cabinet or PMO staff hires of late. And while the list of departing staff is long, Hill Climbers is spotlighting some now-former senior aides who have taken time to publicly say goodbye.
As is well known by now, leading figures in then-prime minister Justin Trudeau’s office have made their exit since Mark Carney’s transition into 80 Wellington St., including Trudeau’s longtime chief of staff Katie Telford, senior adviser Ben Chin, senior global affairs adviser Patrick Travers, and deputy chief of staff Brian Clow.
Jason Easton spoke to his departure from the Prime Minister’s Office in a LinkedIn post, writing that leaving the building for the “last time” as a senior adviser to Trudeau was a “strange feeling, with Canada in the midst of a trade war started by the United States. But that’s he wdemocracy.”
“It’s with a heart full of gratitude, and a steely determination to do what’s right for our country, that I reflect on the incredible journey this has been. Not just for me, but for Canada,” he continued, going on to thank Trudeau for the confidence placed in him, and to urge those reading to show “empathy and understanding for others” in today’s polarized political space.
A former Ontario Liberal staffer, Easton joined Trudeau’s PMO as an adviser in the fall of 2023, and before then spent almost five-and-a-half years as chief of staff to then-trade minister Mary Ng, starting during her time as then-minister of small business and export promotion.
“I don’t know what’s next. And I’m OK with that. But if you want to make any suggestions, I’m listening,” he concluded in his post from earlier this spring.
Matt Stickney, another recent senior adviser in Trudeau’s PMO, said his goodbyes on LinkedIn in March, writing that after nine years of having a “get-to job, not a got-to job” he would be starting the search for his next “get-to job soon,” but in the meantime will be busy spending more time with his kids.
A former British Columbia Liberal staffer and ex-aide in then-federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff’s office, Stickney returned to Ottawa in late 2015 as chief of staff to then-sport minister Carla Qualtrough. He went on to run Qualtrough’s office as then-public services minister before joining the PMO after the 2019 election, originally as executive director of operations.
“Five years working for the Prime Minister of your country feels like ten, but in a good way,” wrote Stickney, who gave a “big thank you” to his colleagues “both on the Hill and in the public service.”
“Governments aren’t perfect, but I’m confident we tried to tackle the big problems in the best way we knew how,” he added.
Andrew Bevan, who was most recently a Liberal campaign co-director, has called time on his return to federal politics. A former Paul Martin-era cabinet chief of staff and later chief of staff in the office of then-Liberal opposition leader Stéphane Dion, Bevan returned to the Hill to take over as chief of staff to then-deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland in October 2023, concurrently also serving as an adviser to Trudeau. He left 80 Wellington this past October to join party headquarters ahead of the recent election.
“That’s it,” wrote Bevan on X on May 16. “After 12 months back in government and 6 months on the campaign, this was my last day at [the Liberal Party]. Excellent experience working with many talented and committed people, too many to name, all dedicated to their country. Thanks to all! Now, back to [the] private sector.”
Kyle Harrietha, who was chief of staff to then-energy and natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson heading into the election, made his farewells in a May 21 LinkedIn post, writing that following “nearly 10 years with the Government of Canada as a senior political adviser,” he would “soon be moving on to whatever comes next.”
Harrietha had been chief of staff to Wilkinson since March 2024. A former MP staffer on the Hill between 2001 and 2007, Harrietha started working for the Trudeau government in early 2016 as director of parliamentary affairs to then-environment minister Catherine McKenna, and continued in the role after Wilkinson was shuffled into the portfolio after the 2019 election. Following the subsequent 2021 election, Wilkinson was named natural resources minister, and Harrietha followed his boss to his new office, becoming deputy chief of staff and director of parliamentary affairs.
In his farewell post, Harrietha gave a nod to his family, “who have put up with 50-60 hour work weeks, more during the election campaigns I managed, for a very long time.”
“Hopefully my next professional adventure allows me to be more present than I have been on many occasions,” he continued.
Harrietha ended his post by wishing Carney and his cabinet success in the 45th Parliament. “I’ll be watching with interest and look forward to continuing the work of the Liberal Party of Canada,” he wrote.
Isabelle Daoust, who was most recently chief of staff to then-official languages and public safety minister Rachel Bendayan, marked the end of her “brief return to the Hill” in a LinkedIn post from March, shortly after Bendayan was sworn in as minister of immigration in Carney’s first cabinet. (Bendayan was left out of the front bench lineup unveiled by Carney on May 13.)
“I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my team, my peers and all the dedicated colleagues in the public service who make meaningful change possible every day,” wrote Daoust.
Daoust became chief of staff to Bendayan after Trudeau’s December 2024 cabinet shuffle, and before then had most recently been deputy chief executive officer with the Canadian Bar Association. She previously also worked as a policy adviser to then-defence minister Harjit Sajjan between 2016 and 2017.
Alex Corbeil, who was chief of staff to then-tourism minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada up until the minister’s resignation from cabinet in February, has opted to follow her boss to the world of Montreal municipal politics.
“It’s time,” wrote Corbeil in an otherwise French-language LinkedIn post from March marking the end of her decade-plus run working on the Hill.
A former assistant to Trudeau as the then-MP for Papineau, Que., between 2014 and 2016, Corbeil landed a job as executive assistant to the chief of staff to then-status of women minister Patty Hajdu in 2016. She went on to work for then-trade minister François-Philippe Champagne, then-official languages and La Francophonie minister Mélanie Joly, and for Ng as then-trade minister—working her way up the staff ranks in the process—before becoming chief of staff to Martinez Ferrada in August 2023.
Martinez Ferrada left federal politics to run for mayor as leader of Ensemble Montréal in the city’s upcoming November election. According to Corbeil’s LinkedIn profile, she’s now executive director of Ensemble Montréal.
There have been plenty of staff exits across the partisan divide, including in light of the NDP’s loss of recognized party status, putting an end to its parliamentary funding to run a leader’s office, and those of a whip and House leader. As a result, many longtime staffers have bid the Hill farewell, including NDP lobby co-ordinator Anthony Salloum, who has taken an early retirement after 26 years working in the political trenches—the last 14 of which have been spent as the NDP’s point-person in the opposition lobby.
Among the Conservative ranks, Pierre Poilievre’s director of media relations, Sebastian Skamski, and director of communications Ben Woodfinden have both left their roles.
In an X post announcing his departure on May 1, Woodfinden said it had been “the honour of a lifetime to work for” Poilievre.
“This was my first and only job in partisan politics, so I had no real idea what exactly I was getting into,” wrote Woodfinden, who joined Poilievre’s office as official opposition leader (OLO) in October 2022 from the world of academia. “The last nearly three years doing this have been among the most intense, interesting, fun, and informative things I’ve ever done. I’ve met so many incredible people, including friendships and relationships that will last a lifetime.”
Speaking to the April 28 election results, Woodfinden wrote that it was “obviously not the outcome” he had wanted, but said “there’s a lot to build on.”
Woodfinden said he would be “taking a bit of time to recharge,” and while he would “have updates down the road on what comes next,” he noted he has a “few years worth of essays and thoughts” he wants “to put onto paper.”
“You’ll hear from me soon,” he concluded.
A former Ontario Progressive Conservative staffer, Skamski had been working in Poilievre’s OLO since the end of 2022.
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