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Saturday, August 2, 2025
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The List: The 100 Most Powerful & Influential People in Federal Government & Politics in 2018

The Top 25

1. Justin Trudeau, prime minister

2.Gerald Butts, principal secretary to the prime minister

3. Katie Telford, chief of staff to the prime minister

4. Michael Wernick, clerk of the privy council

5. Chrystia Freeland, foreign affairs minister

6. Bill Morneau, finance minister

7. Navdeep Bains, innovation, science and economic development minister

8. Ralph Goodale minister of public safety and emergency preparedness

9. Jonathan Vance, chief of defence staff

10. Jane Philpott, minister of Indigenous services

11. Jody Wilson-Raybould, minister of justice and attorney general of Canada

12. Andrew Scheer, Conservative Party leader

13.John Zerucelli, director of operations in the Prime Minister’s Office

14. Michael McNair, director of policy to the prime minister

15. Brian Clow, director of Canada-U.S. relations in the Prime Minister’s Office

16. Kate Purchase, director of communications in the Prime Minister’s Office

17. Matthew Mendelsohn, deputy secretary to the cabinet, results and delivery

18. Paul Rochon, deputy minister of finance

19. David MacNaughton, Canadian ambassador to the United States

20. Jeremy Broadhurst, chief of staff to the foreign affairs minister

21. Justin To, director of policy and budgets to the finance minister

22. Richard Wagner, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada

23. Daniel Jean, national security adviser to the prime minister

24. Michael Ferguson, auditor general

25. Bob Fife, Ottawa bureau chief of the Globe and Mail

Names listed in the following sections are not ranked in order.

 

The Politicians

Justin Trudeau, prime minister

Navdeep Bains, innovation, science and economic development minister

Kathleen Wynne, Ontario premier

Patrick Brown, leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party

Bill Morneau, finance minister

Chrystia Freeland, foreign affairs minister

Ralph Goodale, minister of public safety and emergency preparedness

Andrew Scheer, Conservative Party leader

Jagmeet Singh, NDP leader

Ahmed Hussen, immigration, refugees and citizenship minister

Philippe Couillard, Quebec premier

Catherine McKenna, minister of environment and climate change

John Tory, Toronto mayor

Amarjeet Sohi, infrastructure minister

Carla Qualtrough, public services and procurement minister

Jody Wilson-Raybould, minister of justice and attorney general of Canada

Seamus O’Regan, veterans affairs minister

Harjit Sajjan, minister of national defence

Naheed Nenshi, mayor of Calgary

Jane Philpott, minister of Indigenous services

Rachel Notley, premier of Alberta

T.J. Harvey, Liberal MP for Tobique-Mactaquac, N.B.

Wayne Easter, Liberal MP for Malpeque, P.E.I.

Valérie Plante, mayor of Montreal

Ginette Petitpas Taylor, health minister

Pierre Poilievre, Conservative MP for Carleton, Ont.

Peter Harder, government representative in the Senate

Yuen Pau Woo, facilitator for the Independent Senators Group

Jason Kenney, leader of Alberta’s United Conservative Party

Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations

Scott Brison, president of the Treasury Board

Marc Garneau, transport minister

Jim Carr, natural resources minister

François Legault, leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec

Lawrence MacAulay, agriculture minister

Dominic LeBlanc, fisheries minister

 

The Public Servants and Government Officials

Yaprak Baltacioğlu, secretary of the Treasury Board

Christiane Fox, deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs and youth, Privy Council Office

Michael Ferguson, auditor general of Canada

Michael Wernick, clerk of the privy council

Ailish Campbell, chief trade commissioner of Canada and assistant deputy minister of international business development, Global Affairs Canada

Greta Bossenmaier, chief of the Communications Security Establishment

Jody Thomas, deputy minister of national defence

Richard Wagner, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada

Daniel Jean, national security adviser to the prime minister

Lori Sterling, deputy minister of labour, associate deputy minister of employment and social development

Matthew Mendelsohn, deputy secretary to the cabinet, results and delivery

Stephen Lucas, deputy minister of environment and climate change

General Jonathan Vance, chief of defence staff

Alan Kessel, assistant deputy minister legal affairs and legal adviser at Global Affairs Canada

Simon Kennedy, deputy minister of health

David MacNaughton, Canadian ambassador to the United States

Paul Rochon, deputy minister of finance

Marc-André Blanchard, Canadian ambassador to the United Nations

Marie Lemay, deputy minister of public services and procurement

John Knubley, deputy minister of industry

John McCallum, Canadian ambassador to China

Kelly Knight Craft, United States ambassador to Canada

Stephen Poloz, governor of the Bank of Canada

Lu Shaye, Chinese ambassador to Canada

 

The Political Staffers and other Influencers

Katie Telford, chief of staff to the prime minister

Gerald Butts, principal secretary to the prime minister

John Zerucelli, director of operations in the Prime Minister’s Office

Michael McNair, director of policy to the prime minister

Brian Clow, director of Canada-U.S. relations in the Prime Minister’s Office

Kate Purchase, director of communications in the Prime Minister’s Office

Justin To, director of policy and budgets to the finance minister

Jeremy Broadhurst, chief of staff to the foreign affairs minister

David McArthur, chief of staff to the Conservative official opposition leader

Mathieu Bouchard, senior adviser to the prime minister

Ben Chin, senior adviser to the finance minister

Marci Surkes, chief of staff to the public safety minister

Hamish Marshall, 2019 election campaign manager for the Conservative Party

Anna Gainey, president of the Liberal Party of Canada

Dustin Van Vugt, executive director of the Conservative Party of Canada

Hilary Leftick, director of appointments in the Prime Minister’s Office

Dan Arnold, director of research and advertising in the Prime Minister’s Office

John Brodhead, chief of staff to the Indigenous services minister

Zita Astravas, chief of staff to the defence minister

Gianluca Cairo, chief of staff to the innovation, science, and economic development minister

Rheal Lewis, chief of staff to the government House leader

Kenzie Potter, principal secretary to the Conservative official opposition leader

Lucie Lavoie, chief of staff to the government Senate representative

Willy Blomme, chief of staff to the NDP leader

Tom Pitfield, chief digital strategist for the Liberal Party in 2015, and cofounder/president of Canada 2020

 

The Media

Bob Fife, Ottawa bureau chief of the Globe and Mail

Rob Russo, parliamentary bureau chief for CBC News

Joyce Napier, Ottawa bureau chief for CTV News

Chantal Hébert, Toronto Star columnist

Andrew Coyne, National Post columnist

Anne-Marie Dussault, anchor of 24 heures en 60 minutes on ICI RDI

Rosemary Barton, CBC News’ Parliament Hill correspondent and co-anchor of The National

Heather Scoffield, Ottawa bureau chief for the Canadian Press

Patrick Lagacé,  La Presse columnist

David Akin, Global News’ chief political correspondent

Don Martin, host of CTV News’ Power Play

Will LeRoy, founder and publisher of National Newswatch

Steven Chase, Globe and Mail parliamentary reporter

Evan Solomon, host of CTV News’ Question Period

Susan Delacourt, iPolitics and The Toronto Star columnist