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John Weir was a major contributor to public policy development in Canada for more than 30 years.
During his exceptional career, John was a senior advisor to the Premiers of two provinces. He was widely respected for his political acumen, his level-headedness even in a crisis, his skilful management of complex files, and his ability to reconcile multiple agendas into creative, viable solutions.
John joined Enterprise Canada in 2002 as Vice-President of Public Affairs, and helped lead tremendous growth in the company’s public affairs practice. He was also instrumental in founding Ensight Canada, the highly successful strategic partnership between Enterprise Canada and Navigator Inc. to provide public affairs consulting at the federal level.
After leaving government to become a private sector consultant, John built a formidable reputation for issues management, helping many clients – large and small – make their voices heard and affect policy development on Parliament Hill, at Queen’s Park and in other provinces. He was named by The Hill Times as one of the ‘Top 100 Lobbyists of 2010,’ and received the prestigious Award of Distinction from the Public Affairs Association of Canada in 2011.
John came by his affinity for public affairs naturally – he was the grandson of former Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
He first became involved in public policy issues at the University of Guelph, where he served as the student council's Vice-President, Operations, and oversaw a $1 million budget. He began his working career in 1980 as a research assistant to a Member of Parliament in Ottawa, and moved to Saskatchewan in 1982 to work as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Transportation.
John was promoted to work for the Premier of Saskatchewan, first as his Chief of Staff for the Agriculture portfolio, and then as his Assistant Principal Secretary. He was later promoted to Principal Secretary, overseeing a staff of 100 as well as the overall operation of the Premier’s Office.
John was involved in every facet of government as the Premier's representative, including numerous negotiations among governments, businesses and other third parties. His primary responsibilities included management of various inputs to the cabinet process, liaising between the Premier's Office and other levels of government and working with interest groups. He oversaw the preparation and implementation of communications plans, coordinated various regulatory, policy and program inputs to the decision-making process and managed the communications rollout process. In 1992, he was associated with a business management consulting company and worked on numerous economic development projects.
In 1995, John became Chief of Staff to Ontario's Minister of Education. Two years later, he joined the Premier's Office as Director of Caucus Relations. He then became Director of Issues Management and Tour, and was promoted in 1999 to the position of Principal Secretary to then-Premier Mike Harris. In this role, John was responsible for the day-to-day management of the entire Premier's Office, with added responsibilities for high-level stakeholder relations and short- and medium-term key file management.
John Weir had a well-earned reputation for his ability to bring people to the table to reach winning solutions for all the players. He was widely admired for his sound management, discretion and a calm but determined style no matter what the situation. He was a valued leader and trusted mentor, leaving a solid legacy of strength at both Enterprise Canada and Ensight Canada.
John Weir’s Acceptance Speech (pdf) |
